katanapilot

Curious why this topic is being brought up yet again, when back in 2018 the OP said this (only one of several similar comments on various threads over a couple of years) - "I've watched many of the TFLTruck videos and I really like there road test on the ike Gauntlet. OK, I watched the video on the Gladiator and it preformed as I thought it would, this trailer is too heavy for towing with a Gladiator. Now a trailer like a Casita will probably be ok, maybe even the Elite trailer will work, but the Elite II I would think not."

It would be helpful if you indicated which brake controller you are using - are you talking about the built-in model in the later Tundras or an aftermarket one? You may also find that a new trailer has poor performing brakes until the shoes get properly bedded to the drums. The process is discussed either in the owners manual or the Dexter axle manual - I don’t recall where I found it.

Thanks, but it's really not a big deal. I just got back from an amazing 8 week trip and was very fortunate that we had no issues that derailed any of our plans. I've read several posts on this forum where people have had to cancel plans due to the lack of available service and that is really unfortunate. Our homebuilt airplane community has a similar forum and it very valuable when someone is AOG (aircraft on ground) - meaning they are stuck somewhere away from home with a mechanical issue. Since this airplane group is so large, there is usually help available nearby to get them running again and back home. Just wanted to pay it forward a bit in the Ollie group too if I could.

Sorry, for some reason I thought you were in the Atlanta area. Glad you have the repair scheduled soon and it is not interfering with your camping plans.

Does your a/c have a heat strip or is it a heat pump? Two very different things...

There are a lot of unimproved roads. We contemplated installing either the 3M film or Rhino Lining color coded to the Ollie. Both were expensive ($1300-1500). We decided to wait and see if the Rock Tamers on the Tundra did the job. The only chips I've seen so far (haven't cleaned the Ollie yet) are on the exterior basement door. They would have come from the Ollie tires and not the Tundra - so installing mud flaps (like John Davies did I think) - might prevent some of that. If there are a lot of chips on the front of the Ollie (and I don't think there are) - we will either repair them, install the Rhino lining or just make sure they are coated so water doesn't penetrate beneath the gel coat. I'm not convinced the rocks are as big of a problem as you may have heard. I would always slow down and move to the far right whenever being approached from the opposite direction and most other drivers seemed to do the same. One of our windshield chips was from a Mercedes SUV driver towing an aluminum trailer (won't say what brand but it rhymes with jet stream;) going full speed. As to pictures, I will work on that when I get caught up from being gone for 8 weeks. First world problem, I recognize...

A couple of questions - Is this failure preventing you from going on a planned trip? Where in the Atlanta area are you? I am south of the city in Henry County. I'm not an electrician, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night 😉 In all seriousness, I can swap the transfer switch for you if you bring the trailer to me. I have wired a couple of houses, a hangar and two airplanes that I built (yes, I know the planes are all DC) - if you are unable to make a trip you had planned.

We just returned to Atlanta from a nearly 8 week journey in our Oliver E II. An amazing experience overall and I'm really happy with how the supercharged Tundra and Oliver performed. A few highlights - Days gone - 52 Miles traveled - 12.430. Drove the Alcan, the Steese/Elliott/Dalton to Arctic Circle, Glenn. Taylor, Richardson/Edgerton/McCarthy, Top of the World and a few others. Fuel consumed - approximately 1200 gallons (mostly) premium gasoline Oil consumed - less than 1/2 quart (love those Toyota V8's) U.S. National Parks visited - 10 (7 in Alaska) States/Provinces traversed - 11/3 Oliver sightings - 6! Wildlife spotting - too many to count Costco's visited - 22! Some more than once. (Saved enough on fuel to pay the annual Executive membership fee) Flat tires - 0! (Had two spares each for truck and trailer). Glad I carried extra fuel though, as the fuel station at the Yukon River (Dalton Hwy) was out. Oliver issues - two touch LED lights, one water leak at water pump (very loose flexible hose). Thankful for the double hull and drains. Tundra issues - two divots in windshield. Supercharger drive coupling is going bad (known issue), but made it home for repair here. Memories - a lifetime! Now for a week of cleaning and maintenance on the Tundra and Oliver. Highly recommend this trip if you can spare the time and expense.

Yes we did. We had some discussion about whether it was worth the price - however, we ultimately decided it was part of the experience. It's not inexpensive but I'm glad we did it. The musical was entertaining and enjoyable.

Just completed 8 weeks in the Oliver. The Houghton A/C was flawless. We used the heat pump function most mornings in Alaska and the Yukon - saving us a bunch of propane. I've said this several times - if you can't stand the noise of the Dometic and don't want to spend what I expect will be several thousands to have Oliver replace yours with a Truma - the Houghton is an excellent choice and very reasonably priced.

A whole lot of Brown bears at Katmai last week.

Walking to dinner tonight on the Homer Spit, I saw this Ollie. We have now seen three other Ollies on our Alaska mega adventure.

We bought our Elite II with the shower curtain option (standard toilet). Tried the curtain for a week and then removed it. I use the hooks to hang my shaving kit, but that’s it. Can’t recommend the option and it was not inexpensive.

The cost to clean the Ollie of a muddy mess - $10. The experience and scenery of driving the Alcan and the Dalton - priceless.

Just met another Ollie owner that took their Elite II to Prudhoe Bay. They said the road was a muddy mess, but the trailer did fine.

Just towed our Elite II from Georgia to Fairbanks via the Alcan. 2011 Tundra 5.7 modified with a Magnuson supercharger (same kit as used to be offered by Toyota through TRD), OME suspension and EBC yellow brake pads. Truck and trailer performed well, although there were grades that required downshifting to third or fourth gear and RPM’s at 3-4k at times. Mileage varied greatly depending on winds from 8.5 to 11.5 mpg on premium fuel. I drove at 60-65 on average, but had to slow to 35 at times for potholes and frost heave on the Alcan. Supercharger is clearly not necessary on a Gen 2 Tundra, but the extra horsepower and torque at lower rpm’s was nice. New Tundra would be great once they work out all the new design bugs.

Hull #628 is now in Fairbanks after a 4500 mile trip from Atlanta. Other than getting filthy dirty, the trailer was flawless on the Alcan. We hope it continues for the next 6 weeks. I think Geronimo John (Hull #342) is here as well. We ran in to them in Whitehorse. Nice to check off one more bucket list item.

Appreciate the tip. So far we’ve had no issues and hope it continues. Complete thread drift - it’s 48 degrees here this morning and the Houghton heat pump is keeping us very comfortable without the use of any propane. Anyone contemplating the modification should consider the heat pump version.

We hope to do that tomorrow. We have found premium gas everywhere we expected to except Toad River. I have two cases of Amsoil octane boost so I added a bottle when we put some regular in there. No issues with spark knock as far as I can tell. As to gas prices - trying not to look. Did pay close to $12 Cdn for a gallon at one location.

We are in a campground just south of Whitehorse and have seen our first Oliver - in the same campground. Stop by and say hello!

And yet another reason to upgrade - We are camped today at the Medora campground, parked next to a very nice Airstream with two Dometic Penguin air conditioners. We had hoped to sit outside to eat, but the external noise from the Dometics made that undesirable, so we ate inside instead. You can barely hear our Houghton outside over ambient noise. Being a good neighbor is another positive!

Can't speak to everyone that has converted to the Houghton, but here are a few of my reasons - 1. The noise from the Dometic is intolerable. You can't hold a normal conversation with it running on either high or low. I actually enjoy talking with (and listening to) my spouse over a meal without having to suffer through heat and humidity with the A/C turned off. 2. The cycling of the compressor is very noticeable, especially when trying to sleep. I'm a light sleeper and it would wake me up frequently. 3. Current draw of the Dometic is considerably higher than the Houghton. For those with lithium, you can probably run the Houghton (or the new Truma) overnight on battery power alone. Doubt that is possible with the Dometic. 4. The Houghton has three fan speeds with a real difference between each and a dehumidify mode. It also comes in a heat pump version (which we installed) and will allow us to heat the trailer in mildly cold conditions versus running the propane fueled Suburban furnace. Other than that, not really much going for the Houghton 😉

I would love to have a Land Cruiser and wish I had bought one before Toyota announced the end of production for the U.S. market. That being said, I think my 2011 Tundra is probably a better vehicle for towing our Elite II - better towing capability and capacity, plus more room for storage. I've upgraded the Tundra with a Magnuson supercharger, EBC brake pads and cryo treated rotors, OME shocks/struts and springs. Given how overbuilt Toyota trucks usually are, I think we have a pretty capable package for towing the Ollie - even if we end up being a bit over the published payload numbers. Would a big diesel provide better towing and payload? Absolutely, but I'm not unhappy with what we have (and it's paid for).

Glad your installation went well. I believe that due to the low amp draw of the Houghton, you will not need, nor will you want to install the easy start kit.

If you have the stock Dometic Penguin A/C - it will be noisy. Quite a bit of discussion and some solutions posted in this lengthy thread I started a couple of years ago - https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4517-got-earplugs/#comment-45539