Trainman

When we purchased our 2019 Elite II we purchased a "Stripper Model", well as stripped as a base would come at that time. With three options, confection oven, outside LP connections, and a bike rack, our price $55,400. We got the standard interior, all white counter tops, standard seat covers and flooring (our color choice, 5-6 different ones to choose from), hey that all white interior is classy. We did not get any electronic upgrades and did not opt for the solar/battery upgrades either, one because we had no intention to "Boondock", and electronic change so fast that what was offered at that time would probably be out of date in a few years. With an iPhone with "Hot Spot" it will work well for us and it does. All being said, I think many over think there Oliver purchase just because it's only money and other do so I will too. Once again an Oliver comes will all the wiring in the factory wiring harness and any addons, or upgrades can be done to an Oliver with the latest and greatest upgrades offered at that time, so selling a "Stripper Model" is really not an out of date model to a prospective buyer to your used trailer, ie., does not effect your used price at all. I will admit, we did Boondock at Walmart twice in our travels and we survived well without all that added expense. trainman

For John Davies, I like the idea of the switch for on and off use. I do realize that safety is most important in doing this and I was thinking of putting the on and off switch under the dinette seat where the other electronics are located, this I think would be a safe place as nothing is stored under this seat. I see in the pics that there are two red wires together on one of the on and off switch terminals on the back and one wire is a single wire, does it make any difference which wires go where. I have not looked at the wires on the back side of the detector yet to see how they are arranged, how do I know which two red wires go together and which one is the single one. Turning off the detector does cause me some concern and would be adding another battery power unit like they use in home use be advisable, they seen not to be as sensitive as RV units are. I guess I'm like many others, my unit just goes off for reasons that I can't seem to find out why, you know the drill, open all windows, turn on fan to take air out, etc. and hope the unit will stop buzzing. Does hitting the reset button do anything, I know when I hit the reset it does nothing at the present time, I guess the detectors is not clear yet and is still detecting something. Any info you could give here will be appreciated much, thanks, trainman

I do mine the old fashion way, I wash it every month and buff if once a years with an auto buffer and the correct fiberglass compounds for buffing. I do admit that a cover would be much easier to deal with, but why change the way I do thing now at my age. trainman

We have never had a moisture problem with our Oliver, or our previous trailer a Casita. We do open our vent when weather is good to get some air in the trailer and we do live in Texas where it tends to be much warner and dryer then other parts of the country. I did order our Casita without a TV just for the reason that you described, the TV in the corner. I did buy a mounting bracket like the one in the Oliver and installed the TV myself in the center location, which I find projects like that very easy to do. I also do use the Omni King portable antenna system which is much better then the Oliver factory TV antenna, it sets on a tripod and can be moved for better reception. Yes, it does take 2 minuets to setup. trainman

Wow, this is a new one for me, what is actually being talked about here. trainman

I wouldn't think that Oliver would winterized your new trailer, as I would think that most would be camping the first night after delivery. Ours was inside the building (July) and all was working for the delivery demo, Phil was great. trainman

Your asking questions that no one can answer, Oliver is a top rated trailer, so you would have to assume that it will stay that way, but if the economy really starts to falter then everything goes down and RV's and hobbies are the first to go. As far as NADA, it's only a guide on prices, but how can they even say what Oliver prices are, there is virtually only a hand full for sale at any given time. At this time I would say that sellers of Oliver's are getting probably just about all of the purchase price back on resale, but no one knows how long this will last. trainman

Yes, I don't read them, but my wife does, it's one of those things that she reads and I do the machinal part. trainman

Buying the Anderson extension chain kit will still be too short, the need chain from Home Depot, etc. will be your best buy to get the need links to fit correctly without using more then one Quick Link on each side. I did like I said in the previous post I did buy my chain a litter longer (three links) just to be safe. I did let the extra dangle and cut them off when I got home and was assured that me chins were now the correct length. I wouldn't use D-Rings here because they would not center correctly on the chain, Quick Links would be the correct choice. trainman

Don't know what to tell you why the link number (21 vs. 23) is different, I just know on our 2019 Elite II per Phil with Oliver gave my great instructions on where to mount the adjusting bracket on the trailer tongue and we even crawled under the tongue and was showed where to mount it up to the crossmember. Maybe Oliver's crossmember has been moved on the newer models, but I can tell you if my 3/8" chain was 23 links long I could not get all the slack out of the chain for proper adjustment. Maybe 3/8" chain links do come in different lengths, this I do not know if this happens in the chain world. When I purchase my extension chain I did get then with a few extra links just incase If I needed a long extension, so I had adjustment if needed. I cut the extra links off when I got home. trainman

Our trailer came from the factory with the cables crossed, I just removed the panel inside the garage and switched the cables, This was not your problem, but it was just another one to figure out with the TV and yes dealing with the TV and all the setting up and connection can become a problem at times. I will tell you that we re-run the channel setup everyday, this is because at different times of the day you can get channels that you may not be able to get in the evening. I will say her the Oliver factory TV antenna is not very good and we use the Omni King portable antenna with much better results, plus it has a power booster. trainman

John Davies told me to get two 21 link 3/8" chain and 2 repair links, it fit perfect. I installed the Anderson hitch myself at the camping ground the first night, took less then one hour for this old man to do. Oliver delivery guy (Phil) showed me where to mount the brackets on the trailer. All being said, I purchased the Anderson hitch from an online dealer that sold Anderson products for $475 with free shipping, got the chain and links at Home Depot for somewhere around $35. I personally thought saving some $300 was a go for me. trainman

I like the Anderson levelers, but I actually broke one, I think the level raised up and caught the back tire when rolling off of them. I just pitched it in the trash and ordered a new one as I felt it was probably my fault, probably the wrong thing to do as I read they have a lifetime warranty, oh well on that. I've already forgotten about it till someone started talking about levelers. trainman

After two and a half years of ownership and being a retired Body Shop Mgr. I decided it was time to buff the trailer. My trailer sets outside because my wife said if I wanted a cover it would have to be the $20,000 cedar wood type and not a metal cover type. So I decided I could buff it every couple of years and that is what I do, just did it 3 months ago and it turned out beautiful, and I do good work if I don't say. I used products for fiberglass buffing and I did post it here on the forum, it's somewhere. I prefer the buffing process as it does takeoff the oxidation of the Gel Coat and cover it up. trainman

Being a retired body shop mgr. for over 35 years that always looked like $$$$$ signs to me. Normally a body shop would not do that type of repair as the fiberglass work is one thing, but the Gel Coat color matching process is another, something a boat repair shop would do. I once had a boat that got scratched on the side at the rear, I did the fiberglass work, but not do the Gel Coat, I put a decal stripe over it and matched the other side of the boat to match. For me today I would just take it back to Oliver and have them repair it, mainly because they can match the color with there Gel Coat and you will never know it was damaged, probably needs to be an insurance claim. I feel a good boat repair shop that does fiberglass work could do as well as Oliver, but finding one would be the biggest challenge in todays world. Good Luck, trainman

All being said for us as we are not full timers, or even camping once a month on the average, we have found that any type of internet service, or satellite service is just not worth the expense to pretty much not get good service. If we can't get cell service where we are at and use the iPhone for Hot Spot, or get good TV reception over the air we just don't feel a need for it. I know many who are not connected feel lost, we personally enjoy it at times, do you know there is another life out there besides being connected. trainman

Working for a large DFW Chevrolet Dealer for some 35 years and in management, we never replaced under warranty any part that was not GM original. All being said, if you wanted an upgrade part that was not factory original then you could pay for it and have it installed at your expense. I will say here that there are defiantly parts that are probably better then factory original ones in some cases, but it's under factory warranty, what can I say here, I would feel somewhat out of place to ask such a question to the service department. trainman

I personally see no reason to upgrade to a 2 5/16 setup, I'm looking for all those "Horror Stories" that seem to be out there somewhere, only 'Horror Stories" are from those who are improperly towing with the wrong setup, that is tow vehicle and trailer are not matches for each other. I find that Oliver owners spend a lot of money on addons just because they have it to spend, not so much because it's needed, it's like keeping up with the "Jones". trainman

Not sure what is going wrong with posting pics, but I do know that some pics that I would like to post from the internet will not transfer to My Pictures on my computer, they go into File Explorer, but can't get them out a pics. trainman

I have an old Garmin Nuvi 500 I think that's the model number and it has both regular maps and topo maps in it, also the has a battery backup that will last for around 5-6 hours. It is small and can easily be carried in your pocket, I mainly used back in my motorcycle days and hiking in the woods, I think I paid somewhere around $150 for it I think I will get it out, charge it up, and see how it works, probably needs the maps updated and see what it can do. I guess if you could find one of these models it would be worth the money in good working condition, but I'm sure it would not have all the bells and whistles of todays models. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/13424 trainman

That's Subaru does a very good job pulling your new Elite I, sounds like you have a good combination between the two. We don't get a lot of info on pulling the Elite I on the forum, so glad you posted this for new owners of the Elite I to see. Sounds like your set for some camping fun. trainman

From what I have found out about the Omni factory antenna we decided against it and we went with the King Omni stand along antenna that we used on our Casita. Our camping friends also ordered there new Oliver with the factory antenna and it has proven to not work as well as our King Omni stand alone antenna that we have been using for years, they also purchase the King stand along antenna which much better results then the factory roof mounted antenna. I guess the only thing that some would not like is that you have to set it up which takes about one minute of your time to do, it does come with the tripod mount, magnetic mount, in line power booster which really does help on reception, plus some other things for the antenna. It works for us and we have four others camping friends using the King antenna, all are happy with there purchase. I realize this has nothing to do with the HDTV antenna, two different things, but just thought I would say something about the factory antenna here as some maybe interesting in the info. trainman

Welcome John and Susan in Ft. Worth, I did send you a private message. trainman

I'm setting here thinking I probably need between 10 and 12, why because it's more then 6, do I win. trainman

Using a black marker you can have any ratings you want for towing, just apply the marker ink, hookup your trailer, and go. trainman