SeaDawg

I think the "design capacity" in the older trailers included the volume contained in the pipe between the valve and toilet. That can be considerable, depending on where the valve is/was. I'm pretty sure we get an extra 3 to 4 gallons in our older Ollie, in the pipe. The math isn't that difficult, just never had to figure it out. We dump when we can, use cg facilities when available, including pit toilets, and never been a problem for us. Except for when we are on extended stay, at our camping property, we don't tend to stay in one place more than a few days. Then, it's off to new sights.

Do you already own the Ranger? It's a nice small truck, good safety features, great seats and visibility, kind of a small version of an f150. I test drove one a year ago, and liked it. It would be fine to tow my smaller Elite, in most situations. If you stay in the east, (I don't know where you are), you'll likely be "fine." Flatter roads, not too many 5 per cent or higher grades, ok. You'll likely struggle in even some roads in the east, like i26, green river gorge. A number of places on i40 in TN and NC that I can think of. Southeast, coastal, (sc, much of NC, ga, al, ms, fl,) you'll probably be golden. If I were looking for a TV, I'd look for something with at least half ton capacity. Look for a bigger, used suv , maybe. Trucks are really hard to come by, these days . Where do you live , and where do you want to go? Everything everyone says about gas tank size, comfort, joy, is really true. We've towed our elite with three different vehicles, Volvo xc90, 2005 Silverado stepside, ram 1500 4 x 4. Big gas tank, bigger TV weight, stability comments are all true. The bigger, heavier ram, with the big 34 gallon tank can get us from sw Florida to Asheville in two gas stops, if we so desire. The Volvo was probably 4. And, green river gorge was slow lane slowww, with the heaviest trucks. That said, Volvo was great around flatlands, local. It's a big decision. Take your time.

Fritz, thanks for taking the time to compile all this information! It will be very helpful to many people, I'm sure. Certainly helpful to me.

Nceagle found a worksround (setting 26) for turning off the charger. Another member asked about inverter draw, but never got much for answers, some time ago. Anything else on in the trailer? Especially big draws on dc or ac, like fridge and furnace fan? Or, water heater on 110? I hope some of the owners with new trailers and lithium can help you.

Great idea! I see a lot of calendar quality Ollie photos here.

Yes. Ours was similarly installed with brackets and a couple pieces of threaded rod. We pulled the fridge when we removed ours. Others have said you can get to the brackets without doing so, but it's really tight.

There's also the issue of propane mix in changing climate/altitude With 20# tanks, we can refill the empty with local mix, at a trusted source like tractor supply, and feel comfortable that we have the right mix. Lugging big tanks around the country, not needing refill, may actually be detrimental to performance of the fridge, and furnace, imo. (Note, we no longer have a gas fridge, but it was a concern for many years, for us.)

Depends on the campsite as to where the tongue is. Thigh high to waist high on me, usually, and I'm 5'4". Try the 20# first, imo. Full, only 35 to 37 pound. Not so bad to manage, empty or full. You can always change up later, if you need to.

Thank you for your volunteer service. Those of us who spend a lot of time, and own property in rural areas, recognize and appreciate what you and your friends do. Here in rural wnc, much of our emt/fire service is manned by people like you.

30 # tanks empty weigh 10 to 15 pounds more than 20s, and are taller. We looked at that idea,,and stayed with 20# tanks. We can carry an extra 11# or 20#tank in the truck bed, secured in a milk crate, for long trips, but pretty much never do. One 20# tank lasts a really long time, unless we're camping in really cold temperatures, and run the furnace a lot. We refill when we have to change to the second tank.. Propane refills are not hard to find, but lifting a tall 55 pounds over the lip of the tank enclosure is not enticing, as Mike noted.

What year Ridgeline? And configuration? Our friends in Virginia towed an Elite with a Ridgeline years ago, and were happy.

Sounds like a plan to me. How lucky to have a firehouse carwash a few miles from home! When I was a kid, I could take my car to the bus barn carwash in Minnesota winters. It was heated! What a luxury it was, to wash my Maverick indoors, in shirt-sleeves, in the middleof bitter winter.

I was reminded of this thread, where a number of people have made adjustments to the twin beds to create a king, from time to time. You may find it helpful, or at least interesting. Most of the Elite II's are ordered as twins, as it really opens up the visual space, and makes the trailer seem quite spacious, for its size, imo. At least one person has converted the standard king to twins. I'm thinking it was AndrewK , but I'll look for the thread. Edit to add: We have left the big dinette in our smaller Elite set up as a full size, east /west bed virtually since the beginning. It's not really comparable to the much bigger Elite II bed, as a)the bed space is east/west, 6'2" or so across the width of the trailer, and 53" or so deep. B) the older Elites have a vertical pole from the back of the rear small dinette seat to the ceiling, which provides a good support in the night for the person who sleeps next to the rear hull if he/she has to climb over the other during the night. Most importantly, c) the extra length and width of a standard king bed in the Elite II allows for a choice of east/west or north/south sleeping arrangements, so climbover/crawlover becomes less of an issue, if that's your final choice. When we've rented camper vans with north/south beds, no issue at all to just scooch down the length. Our little dog sleeps on a bed in the rear dinette seat, by my husband's head. I don't mind the climbover/crawlover bed so much, as I rarely get up during the night anyway, and I'm still limber enough to manage the steps when I do. Later in life, we'll see. Good luck in your decision, but I'd personally go with the twins, and adjust as necessary, if it were my choice to make. You can always make up the small dinette for the pooches, at night, as well. Because we bring our dog's bed from home, she knows that's "her" space.

I used the term "soft start " as the generic term. Most recently, when we added Tesla whole house batteries, we changed up to "soft start" on home ac unit. There are a number of brands. I know most people here use the micro air product. Sorry for the confusion.

Welcome! And, congratulations! Did you keep the GMC? I'd love to see a photo, side by side. The vintage gmc is one of my favorite motorhomes. Obviously, not so easy to maintain, these days. Your Ollie will be so much simpler. Looking forward to your photos, and best wishes.

Imelda, call your local rv dealers. Getting the soft start installed is likely cheaper and easier than hauling a giant generator around . Seriously . I'd start there If you don't do that, look at some of the Westinghouse and champion generators, 2400 to 3000 range. Honda used to sell a "companion" 2000, which you could wire in parallel, and take two gensets when you needed ac. It's discontinued, but you might find one used.

Nice chassis, and really nice trailer, Don. Lots of features included in that very big price tag. I hope you enjoy it for many years.

I would encourage you to look at the difficulty of refilling and recertification of composite tanks. And, weigh the benefits. We have a difficult time in our area,,refilling composite tanks. Drop down to steel 20# tanks, easy peasy. Just my thoughts. There are places that will fill composite tanks that aren't on the map, but they are few and far between, in our experience. https://www.vikingcylinders.com/support/find-filler/ We use our composite tanks on the boat, where propane use is minimal.

Welcome to the forum. The smaller Elite is indeed an ideal boondocking trailer. We've used and enjoyed ours as a couple for 14 seasons. You won't even know it's behind your f150. We've towed ours with two different half tons, my Silverado, and my husband's Ram 4x4. I can carry food for at least two weeks for 2, so you should be fine. Good luck in your decision. Lots of folks here to answer your questions.

We use butyl "tape" for bedding windows, hatches, ports, and vents. It's butyl rubber, old school, but pretty much lasts forever, and creates a really strong seal. You can get it at camping world or amazon, in various widths, and grey or black. We only stock grey in the garage fridge. It's easier to work with cold, as it's pretty sticky and stretchy when warm. It's not really a "tape", per se, but comes in a roll with one side covered with waxed paper, that you take off after applying and pressing down on the first surface. If you decide to use it, make sure you buy real butyl tape, not putty tape, which isn't as good. Butyl is a great sealant, but not an adhesive, so it's used in combination with mechanical fasteners. Camping world sells dicor brand.

And, a double rainbow! Nice photo.

What batteries do you have? 4 x what ah, 6 or 12v. ?

Fwiw, if you upgrade, consider the led light version. It's really nice, for a few dollars more. I love that light ring.

Like mike, our 30 amp has only tripped once. We attributed it to lightning storms, but really don't know. Fortunately, we caught it before our batteries were toast, as we were not plugged in to 110.

Ok. You are charging. The -70 amps is nothing I've ever seen. But, the blue sky runs on algorithms, and can give some weird state of charge numbers until the batteries reach 100 per cent, then it resets.