SeaDawg

Again, this year. Becoming a traditional Labor Day thing, for us. Smith's dogs for lunch, walleye dinner. Life doesn't get a lot better. Shore dinner, in the mountains.

What are the two stacked covers to the rear of the battery compartment, above the lower marker light? We don't have those on our 2008. Thanks.

I'd love to hang out with you, and cook together. I'm not much of a baker, and I'm sure I could learn a lot from you.

My home kitchen is at least 3 or 4 times the total size of my older Elite, so I get that. Like Susan, I'm a scratch cook, sometimes speedscratch, but I relax that a bit, camping. For short trips, or first week of longer, I do a lot of things at home. Precooked pasta, and bag with a bit of olive oil . I use a lot of 90 second microwave bagged rice, though I don't have a microwave. Pasta salad, potato salad, etc at home. When I prep, it's often outside, and I tend to prep commonly used items like peppers an onions for several days, stored in baggies. Indoor meals in bad weather can actually be fun. If you think the kitchen the II is tiny, take a look at the original Elite . It's all doable. 14 seasons, going strong. Tiny kitchen and great meals. Or, so says my husband.

For the work, and risk, involved, $400 is pretty fair for a second owner. Spin welding is not really a diy kind of task, imo . Yes, it was an unrecognized design flaw.

Sweet ride!

We're all waiting for Overland to retire so he'll manufacture his nifty sidemount invention for the Lagun for all of us... 😅

Thankfully, haven't seen price or availability changes yet, outside asheville. Thanks for the heads up. 15 or 20 per cent of 🇺🇸 refined gas comes out of Nola area. It may change. Usually does.

So, my 2008 elite, 6.5 at belly, x 6 plus a bit, at height, from front roof to bottom fiberglass, (assuming air flows under the trailer, not counting tires, etc.) Would be roughly 39 point something sf. I'm not discounting for curves in and up and down and sides, not adding on for trolley top, and additions, like vents, ac, antenna, etc. It's a bit more complicated than I feel like measuring and calculating, but I suspect Elite, with curves and indents, may be a lot less than a flat front trailer. And, quite probably under 40 sf. Could certainly be out or wrong, but I think the curved surfaces make up for a lot. Never really thought about it much, till now. Looking forward to a math challenge. And, @bhncb you've brought up this good point, and many others, in other posts. I really appreciate it, as do others I could certainly be out of whack, here.

@bhncb, I'd love to see a published equation for figuring frontal area. It's a really good point, but not exactly sure how to figure it with the rounded shorter (and trolley roof) front of an Elite. Our is a little over 6' at the front, (not counting tires height) and 6'6" at the bellybutton, but narrows top and bottom. The accessories on top surely increase drag, but if I were so inclined to reach back to high school math, and did proper measurements, I'd probably be close to the 40 sf limit. Maybe out, maybe in. The back, of course, is far more squared off. @FrankC, your experience with two cherokees is important. Did you tow anything with them? We have a friend in NY state with a lesser capable Cherokee model than the Trailhawk. He tows a big 4x4 utv, a lot. Traded up from a 2up to a heavier side by side, recently, and is buying an aluminum trailer vs steel, to stay within the limits. I usually say, your TV that you own, if within legal and comfortable limits, is the best choice, to begin. Depends entirely on your skills and camping style, and where you want to go. Marginal tow is a no go for mountain passes, imo. Many people change up later. Some people are ok limiting gear, staying on the flats, and good weather, not carrying water in any of the tanks. Others are not. Some people routinely drive mountain passes, (like us) and are unwilling to monitor every piece of gear and its weight. And, travel with empty tanks, routinely. Which would probably be required in the op situation. Some people just camp weekends, short drives, with hookups. Not us, but that's ok, too. Steve/ @scubarx is not only kind hearted, but super skilled in many areas, and brings joy to others and himself being able to fix and repair. He carries a LOT of weight in parts and tools and bedslides that many of us don't. Plus, a huge generator on the tongue. It's not the end if the world to camp minimalist. It's also not the end of the world to enjoy every avaiilable option. Everyone is different. That's why the world is so much fun.

That's an awesome idea. Thanks for the photos. Nice work!

That's the 80 per cent with which I totally agree.

I agree with Steve about 80 per cent.Some people carry less than me, many (like Steve) carry much more. We're under 4k, fully loaded, but still sure the 420 tongue is close. No basket. 20 lb tanks. I think it's also important to consider that towing with a marginal vehicle might meet safety requirements, but it won't likely be as fun or easy. And that small gas tank would be a no go for us . (I read the fb link.) Thanks for adding that, Steve.

Congratulations, Fred. The countdown begins!

We installed a 10 ft garage door, for safety margin, when we built our new house. Total height depends a lot on rooftop gear. We used to be 9'5" or so, then we removed the kingdome, then swapped out ac to a low profile unit, so our overall high pont is now a maxxair cover over our FanTastic vent fan, by about 1.5 inches. We probably lost 2 to three inches. But, we have always run on 15 inch st tires, not the 16 inch LTs that Oliver (i think) installs today. That would bring the height back to our original height, somewhere between 9'4 and 9'5", as I recall. We have a "flipped" axle, and I don't know if that's standard today, or not. Best bet, get your rep to give you a true set of measurements, including higher points that could possibly be reduced by alternative gear. 9 ft door would likely be tight, with my modified 2008, even with reducing air pressure. And, what about clearance of the rails and door opener? That could be tight, even with a Casita. I'd volunteer to drag the ladder up the hill and remeasure, but I think it's immaterial to a new trailer. You need current info, from Oliver. Then, you can figure out where you can or can't shave a few inches.

I think the highly efficient obsidian panels are beautiful, and light, and just a great piece of equipment, hugging the top of the trailer so closely with the rail attachments. I wish Zamp made higher wattage obsidian panels. Don't know if the innovations will continue, as Dometic recently acquired Zamp.

Welcome to the forum. The GM motorhomes were the height of cool, back in the day. My boss had one, and I thought it was awesome. You can easily keep an Elite to under 4500 pounds. Don't get a tongue basket. Don't get 30 lb tanks. We've not weighed ours in a long time, but our tongue weight, years ago,, loaded for camping with some fresh and some grey and black from a three day trip, our trailer weighed 3960, with 420 on the tongue, 3540 on the axle. We've removed and replaced some equipment, so I'm sure we weigh a bit less, now. Think through options, and what you want to carry, carefully. Add the tongue weight to your passengers and pets, and that will tell you how much cargo you can carry in the Jeep. Probably not more than 200 pounds or so. You'll get a sticker with fully optioned weight, as delivered, and then you can figure out what you can carry in the trailer, within your Jeeps limits. We use cushions and a mattress topper. I'm sure the custom mattresses are a bit heavier. Is your trailhawk a Cherokee or Grand Cherokee? Where do you want to camp? Our Volvo xc90, with which we towed our Ollie Elite home to Florida, was fine in flats and hills, but probably would have struggled in the mountains.

@NCeagle, is that a Zamp Obsidian panel that you've added, with the thin black frame?

@Overland, that looks great, too. I remember envying your beautiful towel bar from a photo a few years back. I wish we had room in our smaller trailer. 😒 I don't want to hang a bar on the fridge, as some have done. I'm always concerned about creating a gap in the seal by putting too much weight on the door. I try to put heavier items on the fridge shelves, and anything on the door shelves that weighs a lot I try to keep near the hinge side.

Most septic safe paper is ok. If you're not sure about your favorite brand, put a couple clean squares in a jar with some water, give it a couple gentle shakes, and see if it falls apart. If it does, you should be good to "go." So to speak. If not, find another brand. The key to avoiding the dreaded poop and paper pyramid is enough liquid in the tank, before you dump. It doesn't have to be a lot of clean flush water. The water that's already been through you works just the same... Edit to add: Scott makes an rv tissue that's a little softer, smaller rolls, still pretty inexpensive. The big Scott one ply megarolls we get at Costco don't fit well in the marine style dispenser in our Ollie, till I unroll a bit. That's ok, because I save those bits in a zip lock to carry in my pocket for campground facilities. I learned a long time ago to not count on available paper.

That looks great. nice work. More importantly, glad you are comfortable!

So, something like these components?

Thanks. I was just going to ask you about your bungee and hook. Looks easy to deploy.

Most people i know use Scott's single ply, septic safe paper.

The original Elites, like our 2008, don't have a pump switch in the bathroom. It has never bothered me, as it's one step in our small trailer to reach the switch by the SeeLevel. A few original owners added a switch in the bath, and Oliver adopted the idea. (Pretty sure Scubarx and dckiefer added the switches early on.) You should able to find a similar weatherresistant switch and boot at NAPA, but if it were me, I'd spend a few dollars more and buy a weatherproof labeled blower rocker switch at a marine supply. I'd be less likely to accidentally turn off the fan. Do the new Olivers still have the little low light that illuminates the floor? If so, I'd borrow that circuit instead. We never use that light, and you'd still be able to run the blower if you turned off the main pump switch, as we do every time we leave the trailer.