SeaDawg

Here we go, Tampa, here we go!👏👏 Game 5.😁

One more thought on the Rebel (which I actually love, btw.). Beyond the huge physical step up into the cab and bed, there's a big/not quite huge but really big step up - in tire price, when every three to five years you have to change up tires, with 33" cool looking tires. You can get cool looks with blackout trim and black rims, and 20 inch a/t tires, if you're not an "offroader." All depends on what you want. At the very least, even if you're tall, make sure there's a step up built into getting into the cab. We carry a two step folding ladder for the bed, with 20 inch tires. Even with smurf bars, I carry a footstool to get my mom into Paul's truck. She can barely make it into mine, with 17" tires, and running boards. Food for thought. Especially when your big dog gets older.

Sorry for your loss of Marlie. It's a tough time, losing a four-legged member of the family. Your trip as outlined, to me, looks like a lot of stuff you don't like to do. And a lot of possibilities for cold, snow and ice. I'd probably look at heading back to Aiken, head south to the panhandle of Florida. Spend some months of coastal time in FL, Al, MS, TX, including Hill country of Texas. Head further west and North (and higher elevation) as spring/April approaches. Moab, Zion, Bryce. Grand Canyon, Sedona. All great views, but don't go too early. My opinions. I've been in Moab /Archrs/ etc and Antelope Island and Dunes in early May, and still chilly at night. April would probably be my earliest dates of choice. As John said, elevation makes a big difference.

I can see the at tires as a good compromise, just as they're a compromise on trucks and suvs. Stiffer sidewalls, probably. Decent highway performance. Better traction offroad (not necessarily in mud.) We'll all look forward to your review, as time goes on. Once again, a pjoneer.

Thanks for finding that photo of an Elite II under construction. You can clearly see the ducting. And the reflectix insulation (which is not present in older 2008s like ours.) I'd love to see a new Elite I photo underway. The furnace in the smaller Elite moved to the small dinette area, but I don't know if it ducts to the bath, or anywhere else. Or, if it simply blows hot air from a single grate, as ours does, which is quite effective in heating the smaller cabin space. Maybe next time in Hohenwald I'll see one under construction. It's been awhile.

I'd always heard about the "moss people " in the pnw. I was really totally surprised by the moss in the Washington rainforest when we finally camped there. (My last state of the 50 to visit.) A very special beauty. And really tight campsites in some of our choices.

Thanks so much for gathering all this data.

My cousin just put the same Coopers on her Jeep a few months back, on the advice of her son, who's been running them on his Ram. They both really like them. Look great!

That's true in the Elite II. Our older (2008) Elite I has no ducting. I don't know about the new model Elite. The furnace location in newer Elites has changed, but I don't know if it's ducted or not. One of the newer Elite owners could tell us.

A shutoff/bypass for the outside shower would be a simple solution

We've many times camped into the teens, maybe upper single digits in the older elite. But, we don't intentionally seek out winter weather. It finds us, in the mountains in shoulder season, and sometimes in fall in Canada. .I know the insulation is different in the newer models (we really don't have a lot). And, the furnace location has moved. If it's in the 20s or low 30s when we go to bed, I usually open the bathroom door, and open the lower drawer a bit. So far, so good. It was below 32 twice this past 2 weeks, during the night. I did nothing extra. Left the bath door closed. Ran furnace on low. We were fine. Toasty, actually. But daytime highs were in the 50s and 60s.

I don't think the furnace in the Elite is ducted. Ask your sales person, but I don't think so. When it's really cold, owners of older Elites, like us, will open a drawer or access hatch to send the warm air through the hull. Mine us a 2008, so things could be different. Just know before you go.

Sales people in farm/ranch country, where everybody buys a truck to haul something, are often better versed than city salespeople. That said, it's still important to check all the info through the stickers and vin. The Laramie trim John proposed is a flatout lux truck. But, you'll want to protect the seats with your big dog, for sure. My 2005 Silverado has a 25 or 26 gallon tank. It was really fine for towing our Elite, with all the right equipment except 4 x 4. It would not have been fine in some sparsely populated western states, and especially in the Yukon. I'd probably have some anxiety about distance between gas stations. With the Silverado, we averaged around 12 mpg, towing. Definitely, more gas stops. At our age, we probably stop more often to stretch legs and visit the rest stop toilets than we stop for gas, with the 35 gallon tank in the Ram.

We also love Western NC. Lovely, friendly small towns. 4 gentle seasons. Asheville is a very fun town, with great food, craft beer and music. We don't live here year round. (No sailing), but we spend months here every year, and find it a great jumping off point for other adventures. Much closer to New England, the Midwest, and Canada. As for Colorado, it's beautiful, but never really my favorite. My sister lived in Grand junction a few years, and was thrilled when her husband was transferred. One of my college roommates moved last year from Parker, CO, to a small town in Wyoming. Our daughter is out in Colorado now, on a hiking trip. I'll see what she has to say. If I were ever to go west, I'd probably look in Idaho.

My advice, carry your genset in the pickup bed. Don't add to the tongue weight. There are many threads on generators here. We carry a (now) 12 year old Honda 1000 that charges the batteries, when we don't have sun for the solar. Economical. We don't use it often. My sister bought a small powered by Yamaha 2000 watt at Costco for around $450. Great little generator. Champion also has a good reputation, at a similar price. Get a good cable set, and lock it to a rear wheel. Make sure you buy something you can lift. Use nonethenol fuel, and stabil.

Harbor freight often has these on sale for 5.99. With a 20 per cent off coupon, even better. Best chocks around. For the price.

Make sure you buy good chocks. Those won't come with your trailer. 4 x harbor freight chocks, with coupon, probably 22 bucks.

Topgun, assuming he's already disconnected from the ollie. Getting leakage from olllie battery.

rv antifreeze is dyed pink for two reasons. 1. So people don't confuse it with lethal automotive radiator antifreeze. 2. So that when water turns clear from pink, when you de-winterize, you know it's out if the system.

great price, btw. Thanks!

The SeeLevel guages are better than most, imo. (When we installed new tanks and gages on the boat, SeeLevel was our choice.) But, level front to back and side to side still make a difference in the readings, depending on where the Guages are mounted. I judge "full" by looking down the drop with the valve open, as a backup. Same as any rv we've had or delivered. The black tank is just not the tank you want "overfilled." 🤨 Also, depends on where the dump valve is located. I think we get some extra storage (by several gallons) in the black waste pipe, in our older Ollie. Great idea to test with clean. I've always recommended that newbies fill the new black tank with clean water, to learn how to dump. No big deal if clean water gets spilled with a faulty connection or technique.

Nice. We used shower slip guard strips from Walmart.

If your model is an inverter/charger, that's exactly what it is designed to do. Charge when ac is available, switch to battery/inverter when ac fails. Not ideal if you don't know what's happening, and don't have a ton of battety available. Slick if you do.

We tow with a 2008 Ram 1500, 4x4, 5.7 hemi, because we use the truck for many purposes, and we need the 4x4 on our NC property. I'm curious for the new owners. For those of you with the smaller Elite, what's your choice?. And pros/cons.

Agreed. Another of my favorite expressions. 😄