Galway Girl
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Posts posted by Galway Girl
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When we bought ours NEW (in Aug 2019) , I asked our local Credit Union about buying a used Oliver from a private seller.
They said that since there's a very low number of Oliver's produced overall..the don't appear in the NADA RV guides which the CU uses for assessing value remotely.
Their suggestion was that they either need to "see the unit" at their branch, or have a local CU to the location of the unit act on their behalf in establishing the quality and value of the used unit.Since then I think they are now in NADA guides that CU's can use to assess value.
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"Anyone know if a Toyota Tacoma w tow package is sufficient for hauling a loaded Elite ll?"
Here's some real EII data from our Hull 505 to help you with your Tow Vehicle process:
Check this real world data below against your Tacoma Payload, Tow Rating, and Hitch Ratings:
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Empty Weight of EII as delivered at Factory, no water but 2 full 30Gal Propane Tanks
Trailer 5465 Lbs -Tongue Wt - 635 Lbs GVWR for Oliver - 7000LBS
We have almost Every Option: 4 AGM Batteries, Solar, Dual Awnings, Front Basket, Wifi and Wireless boosters, 2kW Inverter, Transfer SwitchWeight of EII on Cat Scale Standing Alone - setup for camping, full of food, gear and water.
Trailer 6400 Lbs - Tongue Wt - 750 Lbs (as high as 835Lbs when loaded with some gear in trailer in front of axels on floor.)The tow vehicle has several pieces of information and two that are very important:
1) Payload for Tow Vehicle - as listed on the drivers side door frame - This is the max amount you of weight to load into and carry in your vehicle.
This includes passengers, any added post factory gear (like canopy's, tool boxes) and camping gear and it also needs to include the
Tongue Weight of your trailer.Calc Example: (for 1/2 Ton Truck subtract all the cargo, passengers, gear and tounge weight to see what's left.
So you see in that example, the truck payload is almost over capacity before adding all that other gear...bikes, ice chest, bbq, camp chairs, tools etc.
Some gear can go into the trailer but you'll need to carefully "load" that trailer to not put it out of balance.Ladened Goal for Tongue Wt is minimum of 10% to max of 15% of the total trailer weight on the tongue. (for 6400 Lb Trailer, that's a range of 640-950Lbs)
2) Tow Capacity of the Tow Vehicle - often people want to have "margin" above the rated Tow Capacity for safety reasons.
Example - Trailer has 7000LB GVWR, then you want about 9500 lbs of Tow Capacity to have upward margin.3) What your Tow Vehicle Hitch states as Max Load both for dead weight carrying and with weight distribution.
Here's a tag from an F150 factory installed hitch. Notice that it says 500 lbs for weight carrying, so for an Elite II ...you would need a Wt.Distribution Hitch like the Anderson Hitch offered as an option.
Hope that's useful data for making a decision.
Hull 505 - Galway Girl
Craig Short
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Oliver normally supplies a 40 PSI inline regulator as part of the startup kit. *ask your salesperson for a list of supplied accessories*
40 PSI is the pressure they suggest for street (pressurized inlet).
It's also good to know that the interior pump can also suck water from a boondocking inlet on the back of the trailer through a short hose into a outboard water container. The onboard tank pump is a 3 GPM pump, that provides between 45-55 PSI at it's output to the fixtures.
The pump is calibrated to shutoff at 45 PSI once the taps are turned off.The manuals for the 2020 Elite II will be almost identical to those on the 2021 model (at least for plumbing).
You should consider finding the 2020 Elite II manuals in the Oliver University portion of the Oliver Web Page under the Owners Tab.You can then pre-study for pickup and also look at the details that you may need to boondock successfully.
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On 12/16/2019 at 4:47 PM, SeaDawg said:
A great number of our owners who are lucky enough to have an available outlet keep their trailers plugged in while in storage. Some people even run the refrigerator, and heaters between the hulls or in the cabin.
Others, like us, depend on solar to keep theirs charged.
Our charger converter is designed to step down to "float" when the battery is charged. I've yet to hear of anyone who had an overcharging issue.
Last winter I kept our EII plugged into shore power all winter.
I had winterized pipes but didn't disconnect batteries or use a tender.
In the spring all seemed OK...however, I just this week checked with Jason about this coming winter and storage of the 4 AGM's.
I told him I planned to leave the trailer plugged in all winter.
Here was the core of his reply about how AGM's should be stored."Leaving the camper plugged in is not the best way to keep the batteries charged through long storage periods.
It is better than not having them charging at all and just sitting there and discharging through the winter.
The best method is to get a small battery maintainer that will actually top them off full and let them discharge down a bit and then bring them back up."He also gave me this link to Oliver posts on this topic of Winterization.
Proper Winterization & Storage Tips
I thought the progressive industries converter/charger in the Oliver would actually do that for our batteries.
Comments?
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As we wait for such products to hit the market, I saw this DIY system by some full timer's and YouTubers.
They started with a Casita that didn't have solar so the truck was their main solar bank.They have a shortbed truck with a canopy and set up for extended boondocking.
Within the bed under the canopy they have:
1) Decked Storage system as a platform for tools and other supplies.
2) Front of bed - 2 extra cross bed fresh water + an extension tube leading to the tailgate area as a rear fill/empty port.)
3) Mid Bed - Within an insulated box - Solar Controllers and Batteries hooked up to 600W solar
4) Rear of bed - 12V/110V Compressor Chest Refrigerator
Solar setup Includes:
600W Solar on Roof of Pickup Canopy
3kW Inverter + On/Off Switch and outlets
30Amp connector so they can plug in the trailer directly.
Victron MPPT Controller + Bluetooth Shunt (for reading battery state on phone app.)
2 - Battleborn 100 Ah 12V LiFePO4Pretty complete boon-docking setup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPmn9hjqDp8-
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21 hours ago, Imelda said:
How many drain valves are there? So far I have found the black and grey water discharge valves at the very back compartment on the street side and there is one in the toilet/shower. Should the valve in the toilet/shower/ be closed or open when drain the grey and black water holding tanks?
We found it helps if the valve in the shower area is OPEN when emptying our grey tank...(pulled out it a manual valve). If it's closed it allows a little less air into the system if it's shut while emptying.
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1 hour ago, Going said:
Craig, thanks for the diagram. Mine is the 2017 Elite II. I knew the accumulator had been added but wondering what it does? Might add it to mine.
An accumulator tank is a water chamber which has a pre-pressurized internal air bladder. They are installed on the pressured side of your pump and dampen water pressure 'spikes', reduce pump cycling, help increase the pump's life and also save battery power.
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On 6/25/2019 at 3:53 AM, fritzfrangle said:
Forgot to mention this thread on Alternate Plumbing Diagrams has some good updates from various Forum Members...
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On 6/25/2019 at 3:17 PM, fritzfrangle said:
Bill,
Thank You. I will download the 2019 plumbing schematic.
Neil
Neil,
Here's an updated diagram I created to augment the 2019 EII Manual.
This "might work" for your 2016, but given the changes often made, you may want to use it as a reference.I can send you a version for yours marked up if you find it's different in a 2016 after inspection.
I have this as both a PDF and JPG...and can edit it for you as needed.
Craig Short
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I have an F150 with a connection point way under the bumper.
While the coiled cable chains worked well, I wanted to change to make it a bit easier to connect.
I've added the following chains, along with a woven cover.2x - CURT 80302 35-Inch Trailer Safety Chain with 1/4-In Clevis Snap Hook, 7,800 lbs Break Strength
I saved my previous cable chains in my backup box.
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Jordan,
I would feel ok in many situations, but not in others.
The data below says you are OK from a payload perspective. But that's only part of the story.
My personal experience with a 7000 GVW rated truck is that steep downhill grades get a bit white knuckle as the Truck and Trailer are very close to the same mass. The "FEEL" of towing depends on the setup, where and how you tow. If you're out on the road more than 50% of the time, and in mountains a lot, you may want a bit heavier Tow Vehicle...and pair it with a Diesel Engine to provide additional down hill exhaust braking assistance. If you are a flatlander you might be ok but still wind can become a problem. (Sorry for the generalizations).
In the data table below, I made some assumptions and put data into the Keep Your Daydream towing calculator (xls). The calculator needed data for Passenger Weight and Cargo so I put in numbers for 2 full sized adults and 300lbs of cargo in the rear.
If you add accessories they would also show up in the cargo area.
For example, my short box fiberglass canopy weighs another 250 lbs.If you want to download the XLS go to the You Tube Video and check in the comments section.
Video:
XLS - http://www.keepyourdaydream.com/payload/
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I know many trucks now have displays that show pitch/yaw etc. but they are usually in degrees.
It' handy to have a table like the one below to know how the GRADE sign might look on your display in degrees.
So for John's example above the 15% grade would show up as about 8.5 Degrees in angle on the dash display.
And 8.5 doesn't sound bad, but it feels horrible if you're being pushed down hill by a trailer that's heavier than your Tow Vehicle.
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Welcome to the crew. we are in Everett, Hull 505 Galway Girl.
You might find our blog documenting our trip to pickup the trailer of some use in travel plans. Here’s the link:
Craig & Rose
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I assume the bolt you're discussing is the one circled below:
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Agree with John's suggestion about filing a claim with Ford Corporate.
Also agree that Tundra's are great trucks...however in addition to "tow capacity", pleas consider "payload" as well as you shop.
*Sent JordanV a PM on the topic*
My l F150 has a tow capacity of 12,700 lbs (official) but a payload of 1557 lbs on the door pillar.
I looked seriously at buying a Tundra but their payloads were even a bit less than my F150..I'll be doing more extensive towing in the next few years and want more payload margin and the ability to store gear in the back of a truck with a canopy instead of carrying it distributed also inside the trailer. For those reasons I'm planning a truck upgrade.
Craig
Hull 505
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I thought it may be useful to some viewing the Campground Forum to check out our web page for Hull 505 - Galway Girl.
(Our domain name is 4-Ever-Hitched.com)
Hull 505 - Galway Girl - 4-Ever-Hitched Website
In our website we feature links to pages that include:
1) Trip to Factory - Describes the trip from WA to Hohenwald
2) Picking up our Trailer - Shows Delivery Day and Camping on the way home, includes maps and names of Campgrounds
3) Around the Northwest - Campground maps, pictures of sites, and links to various parks sites we've visited in the Pacific NW.
(Updated Each Trip)
4) Blogs - in this we show repairs, updates we've done to our Elite II. (Updated as they happen.)Finally, there are links to the Amazon Oliver Trailer Outfitters List to post of handy items we and other's have purchased for use with their Olivers.
Craig & Rose Short
Owners: Hull 505 - Galway Girl
Everett, WA-
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Overland,
Good eye...I was also looking at this as it requires no wiring to a display/controller.
At present I'm trying to figure out where I would mount this in the battery box. I would need enough cable length to pull the batteries out of the compartment. I'm setup now with 4 AGM's. If I do go forward with this I'll post.
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Does anyone on this thread know how to get off the "white elbow" connectors?
I would like to take off the 90 degree elbow at the drain valve?
They don't look the same as some shark bite connectors, so I've never tried taking the elbows off.
Found this and it looks like the same brand..
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Hull 505 - Checked the filter each trip out, and had a few shards every time.
Today noticed a bigger drop in pressure, and increase in noise and time to fully charge system and for pump to shut off.
I took off the braided line from pump filter and found a larger plug of plastic shavings in the line.
It was actually a fairly hard plug to remove, I used a long BBQ skewer and pipe cleaners strung together to push out, then blew out with compressor.Unfortunately the filter outlet NPT thread was stripped. (Maybe at the factory as I had never taken that hose off before.)
I ordered a new filter assembly to replace the old one and will be very careful putting on the metal coupler to the plastic NPT.I notice some photos show the hoses that connect to the filter are with plastic threaded couplers, not braided metal.
Will reassemble tomorrow.
After re-assembly I tested for water flow rates. My wife was very impressed at how much water the pump now delivers.
We had gotten to the point that using the shower function on either the Kitchen or BR sink was useless...now they are all acting like real shower heads.
Jason also approved a warranty replacement of the part even though it was EXACTLY on Hull 505's 1st birthday.
Thanks Jason and the Oliver team!
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Susan,
We tow with an F150, but find that when our trailer is fully loaded (water, food, gear) that we're right at the limits of the F150 Payload.
So I'm planning to move up to a Super Duty in the future. I like John's idea to give it a go for a while.In my case, if I trade in my F150, it will likely be for the F350 short bed. We tried the long bed and it's just a bit much to also use as a daily driver and parking on our side parking pad.
Also...if you want to see some of the various high quality electrical adapters, cables and such, check out our list on the Oliver Trailer Outfitters page on Amazon.
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Braoses Hanging Trash Can for Kitchen Cabinet Door, Small Collapsible Foldable Waste Bins, Hanging Trash Holder for Bathroom Bedroom Office Car, Portable Home & Outdoor Garbage Can - 2.4 Gallon
Is on amazon with that title, comes in 2 sizes.
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Susan,
The material used by Oliver is Oracal 651 glossy in matching colors and is available on Amazon and at many Craft Stores.
We had the swooshes and logo's from Oliver but then added a few extra items ourself using a CriCut crafting machine and the exact color matched vinyl that the factory uses. We bought the vinyl in 12"x12" scrapbook size pages...which fit perfectly into our CriCut craft cutter.
Below: Added our Domain Name to the trailer...so folks can check out our travel blog.
Added our trailer name near the Entry Door:
Added Hull Number and Galway Girl Logo to the back of the trailer...
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John,
Which subscription level have you tried? I just downloaded the app and wonder what you find most useful.
CS
The little things that matter
in General Discussion
Posted
A second to the 7 Pin Protector....in our case installed on the Basket on the tongue.