SeaDawg

@dfdouglas, I'm glad you were successful. What year is your Ollie? You won't be the first (maybe not the last either) to report overdriven screws on the windows of a 2017. Sorry for your troubles , though. Glad you used the butyl. Trim it out with a plastic blade in a few days if it oozes.

As an update, I am now entering day six of this trip. Several cloudy days, one with rain. My rooftop panels face east, but they're bifacial, so I get a little boost off the gleaming white roof, I think, in the afternoon sun. No generator, so far. Full (100 per cent charge) somewhere between 11 am and 1 pm, weather dependant. Cool nights, not cold, means the fridge doesn't run as much, and no furnace. Just the vent fan when it warms up in the sun, or I'm cooking inside. I'll take it. And, I'll update as we go along. So far, 18 days, one day needed genset. Remember those torrential rains, two days in a row, a few weeks back? Me, too. Needed the gen. We'll be camping a lot this summer and fall, so I'll figure it out. Extra solar is pretty cheap these days . Lithium isn't

I'd change it for you, but we don't have that capability. Sorry

You can change it yourself. Go to your profile, and click on the pencil/edit. Click on account at the menu, then profile.

My experience in camping with teens and teens is this. They want their own space. Our daughter was ok with cabinet bed in a class c, in teens and teens. With our Oliver, she has always pitched her own tent when she camps with us. Our nephews always pitch a tent, and sometimes move to the cars or truck seat if they get a leaky rainy night. It's all a good learning experience. If you're truly wanting an Oliver, I'd look at a van as a tow vehicle, so the kids can have a space. The ollies sleep 3, not 4, at teen and tween size. Little ones can share the small dinette bed, but a mattress on the floor would be a no go for us.

One thing to watch for when shopping for trailers is the options. Both the price and weight go up with every option over base dry weight. Olivers are sold with a lot if equipment that are options with other manufacturers. (Awning, microwave, furnace, ac, electric jacks all around, sturdy double step, day/night shades etc.) One of the reasons Casitas appear to weigh less is that not much is included in the base model. As in, pretty much everything I listed above is an option, and it only has one battery. Real world Casita weights are less than an Oliver Elite I, by six or seven hundred pounds, but they have a very heavy tongue weight, on average, the same as my smaller Elite. So, as you are exploring campers, make sure you look for the true weight stickers, after options. This will make a big difference in the tow vehicle you buy, and the license and taxes in Europe. I attached a screenshot of a post from fiberglass rv. A member there used to weigh campers at rallies, and post spreadsheets of "real world" in-use, loaded campers. I think most people on here would agree that in the United States, molded fiberglass trailers are the best for longevity and maintenance. Of course, most of us also think Oliver is the best, since we bought one.😃

That really sounds like fun, to me. Camping is such a great way to travel and explore. We've rented campers in other countries, and once did some research on shipping our camper to Europe for a six month trip. Never looked into buying one there, which would actually make more sense, especially for your idea. If you are totally new to camping, you might want to rent a few different European campers before you commit to a brand, and the camping lifestyle. Will you have a home base, somewhere? With a relative, or a home or apartment? Full-time camping in a small camper is quite possible. Many people do it. But it requires paring down possessions, and being able to get along with your partner in tight quarters in foul weather. I'm friends with several couples who full-timed in the smaller Elite I trailer, with pets, even. All of them loved the lifestyle, but eventually moved up to larger campers after several years of traveling and working from the small trailers. The Elite II offers more space and storage than the original Elite, but it's still more compact like a European camper. There are a large number of people who have the composting toilet in their trailers. The one Oliver installs is the Nature's Head.

To give you an idea of the weight of the 2009 that is currently for sale, my 2008 Elite weighs right around 3900 pounds, 420 on the tongue. The 2009 for sale right now has the same heavy Dometic ac unit , same furnace,, and same type 3way fridge mine had when we weighed ours, loaded for camping. It doesn't have a microwave or solar, so you could shave maybe 120 pounds off my 3900, but you'd have to add back in for the mattress, which is a bit heavier than cushions.

Is your 4runner similar in towing capacity and engine as a Tacoma v6? @JRK just towed a new elite from Hohenwald to California with a Tacoma. Tongue weight on my 2008 is around 420 pounds, loaded for camping, with some fresh, some grey, and some black, but not full tanks, just partial. We weighed it on the way home from a weekend of dry camping where there was no dump station. You should check your payload for your particular VIN.

Seems like Texas is growing at an amazing rate.

Hi, and welcome aboard! We have family in Houston, and friends all over Texas. Great state for exploration. Tons of state and Iocal parks. Lots of folks here to answer your questions. You have time. Start digging into Oliver University videos, would be my suggestion. Again, welcome!

Those darn weepholes are important, and a pita to clean. I've used pipe cleaners, line trimmer string lengths, and a variety of implements. Even dental picks. Don't use qtips. They can leave cotton fibers behind. Once or twice a year, I use air pressure. Paul has a tiny nozzle for the garage air compressor, with many feet of hose,, and I use that. It's great. Blows all the gunk out. ( I clean the track, before and after.) I often use an old, soft brustle toothbrush to clean the tracks. Don't use yours, lol. Use an old one It's really important to keep the weep holes, and track clean.

Duct tape is a good temporary fix. It's also a good isolation tool. If you "think" you know where the leak is, tape it. Best when it's warm, and press with a rolled rag, or roll well with a wallpaper seam tool.. If the leak no longer appears, you found it. If it's still there, look elsewhere. Third light above is a known culprit. We replaced ours, bedded it with butyl, and I've been enjoying a dry attic and dry corner of the bed ever since.

Order the white butyl, which is actually kind of grey. Don't get black. Butyl is good in both cold and heat. Good quality butyl is a synthetic hybrid, so it doesn't "ooze" in the sun. If you have leftover, store it in the garage fridge , not on a garage shelf. It lasts a long time that way. And, its easier to work with if the butyl tape is cold, rather than warm. In my opinion.

Are you talking about caulking around the window, after install? Don't use 3m 4000 to install/bed.. Use a good quality butyl. 3m 4000 uv is fine for caulk. Not bedding, imo. It's really tough to remove, which someday you will probably have to do. Easier with a heat gun and plastic scraper. Let the butyl rest a day or two, trim, with a plastic blade . Then caulk. With butyl, it's mostly just to protect the exposed edge from uv. Or, you "could " do like most of the world, and bed with clear silicon. I hate that too, but it works. I'm not a silicon fan, because of the hassle in cleaning it up years later.

Here's link to a search for the phrase "generator box." @theOrca's thread is the first one. Several other ideas as well. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/search/?&q="Generator box"&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy We don't carry anything on the tongue, so I can't personally help.

🤣🤣🤣

Perhaps I misunderstood, but are you looking at 6 months here/ six months Sweden for a number of years after retirement? Store the trailer and vehicle here, not take it back to Sweden, right? One if my friends spent six months each year in Norway on the family homestead, and six months here after retirement, for over 25 years. Now he's here pretty much permanently.

Hi, Tony and Lena, and welcome. We don't full time, but we've spent several months at a time on the road in our 2008 Elite. The larger Elite II gives you more interior space, and more storage, and a bigger battery tray. And requires a larger tow vehicle. I'd probably recommend the twin bed Elite II for full timing, as it gives a bigger interior space feeling in inclement weather. By "new to this," do you mean new to camping, or new to the forum? One of my best friends from high school lives in a smaller city outside Stockholm. You have a beautiful country, I hear. We have cabin camped in Norway and Denmark, and hope to visit Sweden one day soon. Lots of folks to help with questions here. Ask away. Välkommen!

I doubt you will feel the need for a third battery. Just my opinion.

We have no cicadas yet. But yikes. You're probably looking at first frost late August/ early September? Usually 90 to 110 days up here, after we hear the first cicadas . Its another weird year.

I actually like the grey, better. Personal preference. Hate the price tag though. That will never land in my garage. At least, not new.

I like everything about it, including the color. Except the price tag. Thanks for the share.

Yes, I totally get that, with 210 ah totak agms, only 105 useable, and I like to stay within 30 to 50 ah deficit. It is a balancing act, for sure. Tonight, after sundown, I'm minus 3 ah. By morning, ill be down 25 to 30. Fridge doesn't run as much in cool weather. Probably won't hear the furnace kick in at all. Low is probably in the 40s. Edit to add: we don't have an inverter. We've tried to be totally honest, but explain our stringent power parameters. Most people, I think, wouldn't want a dc fridge, and our setup. Honestly. I think lithium is probably more important in the shorties, like ours, for 95 per cent boondockers, with the limited space for batteries. Total waste for those who plug in frequently, in either model. Imo

This is quite true. The more you add, the more you need. When we built our house, we based our needs on the previous home (smaller), and then discounted a decent per centage for added insulation and energy star appliances. Added up watts for what we could forsee. We rarely run heat in the Florida winter. We wound up with a surplus, with a 14 kw solar panel system.