katanapilot

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

I just replaced the bearings two days ago. On my Ollie, the Dexter axle nut was 1 1/2”. No cotter pins on mine - Dexter used an axle nut clip that is reusable.

Glad you were able to get your trailer fixed. Sorry it has been such a source of frustration and disappointment. Faulty main ground wire - it’s almost always the ground in a DC circuit!

I haven't taken the time to read all of the responses to your original post. A couple of comments - Have you looked in your area for a mobile service technician? They are frequently more responsive than RV dealers - since repair is their only business. As several others have suggested - in a DC circuit, 9 times out of 10 (at least in my experience) - the trouble is on the ground side of the circuit. I have to disagree with you somewhat - the unfortunate reality of owning an RV is that if you aren't mechanically inclined - it can be a frustrating experience. I have suggested to several friends that aren't so skilled - to skip buying an RV and just rent for those occasional trips. These things aren't Toyota reliable - even as good as the Ollies are in comparison to many other brands.

Same here. Very popular in the aviation community, I assume because they are built like Toyota LC’s and the dual action is pretty benign when used properly. Not sure I would recommend one for occasional use on an Ollie due to it’s weight. However, if you want to buy something that you can pass down to your kids or grandkids (and assuming the new owners are still building them to the same level as the older units) - they are great polishers. Lots of attachments available as well.

Have to say I’m a bit disappointed that I was censored several months ago by moderators who claimed my comment about “the greenies” was political and in violation of the forum rules - and yet these hardly covert comments about “energy independence” , etc. - go unchecked. Double standard, I guess.

Can’t really help answer your question, but we will be pulling our Elite II to Alaska this summer (with a 2011 supercharged Tundra). We may go as far north as Coldfoot, but will likely leave the Ollie in Fairbanks and just take the truck. Don’t want to chance it with the Ollie on the Dalton Highway. Thread drift - did you by chance fly the Otters and Beavers out of the Gastineau Channel in Juneau? If so, we might have ridden with you over to the Taku Glacier Lodge. Our son flew C-207’s and 208’s out of JNU for Wings of Alaska one summer. I rode with him for a day and VFR in Alaska was eye opening to me.

I posted recently in the thread about the generator ban in California. Apparently one of the moderators was offended by some information I stated about lithium batteries, coal fired power plants, etc. so they removed my post and closed the thread. Stating that the post was “political” was disingenuous in my opinion. I really thought this forum was different, allowing contrary views and opinions. I guess it’s not. Reminds me of the SOB forum I used to belong to - posts that didn’t praise the brand were often removed or the poster was pilloried even if they had a bad experience with their motor home or trailer. It’s been enjoyable being here until now. Thanks for all the good information, advice and opinions you have shared. Given that I don’t share the view(s) that one of the moderators insists upon, it’s time to move on…

We had the curtain, used it for one trip and then took it down. We have not used it since. For us, it got in the way when you are showering, makes the bath area feel even smaller and then was difficult to get dry. The toilet getting wet is not a big deal. As others have mentioned, a squeegee and microfiber towel works well.