The Shackelfords

I bought my elite ii at the beginning of the year and a month or so ago I got a gladiator ecodiesel my tow rating is 6500 and my payload is 1300. I’ve only towed a couple of times and not more than 100 miles but so far I’m satisfied. My trailers loaded weight is between 6150-6250 with full tanks. I try to keep my gear weight in mind and don’t bring stuff I don’t need for the trip. Winter camping is a bit different then summer camping for us so our equipment changes a bit. I’ve still got a few hundred pounds of payload left I could put in the bed if I wanted to but other than a tub of dry firewood and a 12v fridge I don’t ride with much back there. We were hoping to do more Off-road overland trails so we were willing to downsize our tow vehicle a bit to have the best of both worlds. So far we are happy, I can’t tell a huge difference between the gladiator and my titan tow wise. I think my titans payload was only 1500 pounds with a tow rating of 9500 but it certainly worked hard as hell on long hills. I’m hoping the ecodiesel has a little easier time and it definitely gets better mpgs

I find that the wet bath gives my wife and I just enough space to do what we need. We got the factory shower curtain, and it keeps the rest of the bathroom nice and dry. The shower is on the small side, and sometimes the curtains bumps us while showering, but it isn't anything that effects function. I would much rather have the current wet bath then lose my nice closet. We don't spend much time showering in a typical day, so we deem it perfectly acceptable. My parents however are on the larger side, and have informed me the shower could never work for them, so I guess it all comes down to personal preference.

Thanks a lot for this, I have a set that I need to return.

My wife was unsure until our factory tour. After the tour she was ready to buy the same day.

I ended up going with the Davy Crocket for all the reasons mentioned above. I have to say it has been excellent so far. It's the perfect blend of size and portability. Running on 12v was a huge pro.

I'll have to remember this next time the misses asks me what that awful smell is when we lay down for the night. 🤥

Thanks guys, I know that was off topic, but a big help.

That's helpful, my wife and I were just discussing how long our propane would last on trips winter vs summer. Anyone know how much propane they burn a day with the furnace running. Say a mild winter day in the low 30s upper 20s

I'll bring it up Monday when we pick up our trailer.

I am about 99.9 percent sure they are using our camper for some of these videos. Dark blue and dark grey color scheme, and all of our chosen options. We have been waiting for months to finally see our Ollie and the shut down did not help. Getting to see our camper on the you tubes has got our excitement amped up to the next level. We are to excited to pick up our trailer Monday and thrilled it has been well serviced and taken care of during its time at the factory/service department.

Dang, you are absolutely right. Very solid points that I did not think about. Instantly regretting the decision, ol sales man got me with that one.

Another pro for the standard hot water heater is the extra 6 gallons of fresh water you get while its full. That is why we stuck with it and saved our money.

Right now I'd trust Rivians final numbers a lot more than Tesla's Cyber truck numbers. Tesla has been known to stretch the truth on hasty launches before, this would not be the first time Tesla has promised big and under delivered. Rivian is several years ahead of Tesla right now in a pickup truck launch. I can't help but recall those Tesla model 3's that were coming out any month now for five years that were supposed to only cost 30k. Don't get me wrong, Tesla has done remarkable things from where we were on EV's 10 years ago, but hype is kind of built into their business model.

We could not decide either, so we basically got everything on the options list just in case. Honestly though we have yet to utilize a single one...........because we have not picked our trailer up yet haha. Seriously though, we bounced back and forth several times on the solar upgrades, but at the end of the day tax credits will help offset some of that extra cost. We figured even if we don't boondock most of the time, we wanted to keep our options open. I'm not sure how true this is, but they told us during the factory tour that they glass the fasteners into the structure if you order solar from the factory vs an install afterwards. That was enough to make our decision.

I'll certainly give a shot and let you know how it works out.

What about WD-40 dry lubricant for the lower tube. I'd probably extend it as high as I could and give it a few shots of this. It sprays on wet and then leaves a dry coat so dust and dirt doesn't build up to bad. It works pretty good as an all purpose anti corrosion spray as well for other things. I use it on my motorcycle cables, shed hinges, and garage door tracks. https://www.amazon.com/WD-40-Specialist-Resistant-Spray-Sprays/dp/B084VP46MX

LoL an extreme duty 8 foot wide, 27 foot trailer thats 6000lbs. It's funny to think about someone doing some crazy off-roadin with a giant trailer behind them. I would like to see better suspension though. Also an extreme version of the LE with twin beds would be pretty awesome, not that I would by it. It would make the best hunting trip camper on the market for two people who would prefer not to share a bed.

If it wasn't for the shut down, we would be picking up our trailer tomorrow morning. We cannot wait for this to pass, and hit the open road.

Don't forget the riveted aluminum exterior!!

Has anyone thought of white linex on the front of the trailer. They make a thinner version thats desighed to be painted on a truck like paint. It's thinner then the truck bed stuff.

That is an awesome right up, thank you. I'm seriously leaning toward the Davy Crocket after a bunch of research, they seem to be well made for the price. We entertain to often for anything much smaller though.

Hey Yall, One of my favorite weekend hobbies is breaking out the smoker and cooking a brisket or some beef ribs. My wife and I were talking about ways we could continue the same level of weekend cuisine on the road, so I started doing some digging. I found Traeger and Green Mountain Grills have a few "portable-ish" pellet smoker options. The Traeger being the flatter table top scout/ranger for steaks and burgers, and the more all purpose Tailgater smoker for larger items like chickens and turkeys. Green Mountain Grills has one portable smoker that runs on pellets and 12V called the Davy Crockett. I really like the power consumption of the 12V davy crocket, and its temperature control is programable down to one degree. Over all I'm impressed with both these smokers because I could use them as an oven for baking breads, bacon, and other meals. Additionally their is no propane requirement, and my solar panels can easily keep up with the power usage of these 12v grills drawing less than 1.5 amps per hour. The grills weigh in at a hefty 60 pounds but are small enough and foldable enough to fit on the back rack of the Ollie cargo hitch w/ carrier & i'm still young enough to throw that kind of weight around without much hassle. I'll attach the green mountain grill and Traeger links off amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Green-Mountain-Grills-Crockett-Controlled/dp/B078RXH95C https://www.amazon.com/Traeger-Grills-Tailgater-Portable-Pellet/dp/B01CD58XMQ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=traeger+tailgater&qid=1582577583&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-2 Does anyone else have any input on good camping smokers, or had any experience with the ones mentioned?

I've only ever heard good things about Toyota tundras, any regular size pickup will be able to tow the Oliver fairly easily with the quarter tons like the F150 Chevy/GMC/RAM 1500s and the Nissan Titan, needing a weight distribution hitch. All trucks will need a brake controller either built in or an aftermarket ad on. Most trucks that come with a tow package are prewired for an aftermarket brake controller that just plugs in under the steering column. I payed 120 for a nice one and plugged it in myself, there is no need to pay a dealer good money to do that for you.

I think they are pretty much all the same, the only thing that really matters at the end of the day is how much you payed for it. Pretty much every truck brand out there these days is ultra reliable, up to 250+ thousand miles or more, so the only things that should sway your decision is price, features, and creature comforts. For the money I'd say the Nissan Titan is probably one of the best new trucks that can tow up to 10k lbs. If you need more than that, the big three are pretty much the only options. There are way more options if you crack into the full size SUV game, but with that comes sacrifices to dirt friendly cargo space and added costs. I personally have a super bias, against Ford's, but I recognize that for what it is, rediculous mostly unfounded bias. I'm always one to recommend the extremely used market, but I'm mechanically savvy enough to fix small issues I run into ranging from o2 sensors to blown head gaskets and the like. Even if I didn't fix these things, paying a mechanic to fix a 1-5k dollar issue once every other year is still cheaper than an 80k dollar pickup.