Jim and Chris Neuman

I have been using zip ties for years on my sailboat. They are a fine way to make a light fastening but do have the drawback of degrading in sunlight to the point where, after a season or two, their resistance to abrasion and breaking is seriously compromized. Replacing these plastic ties would be on my annual to-do list. I have looked for UV restant zip ties but no luck so far ... would like very much if someone here could post a source. In this application stainless or monel seizing wire would be a superior option.

No need to replace the bolt if you bugger the bolt threads, it is a simple matter to run a thread die down the bolt to clean up the mess. On stainless it is helpful to coat threads with an antisieze (I use lanolin) in order to help eliminate the galling that is common between stainless bolts and nuts.

I have an F150 with the 3.5 Ecoburst. It gets an average of 12 mpg highway in the mountain west while towing the Legacy II and 21 - 22 mpg highway sans trailer. Owners of F150's with the V8's I have spoken with report about the same while towing and less without trailer. What kind of milage do owners of diesel pickups tend to get while towing the Oliver? The Ecoburst requires 87 octane gasoline which is an upgrade from the 85 octane standard in many states. It would be hard to believe significant money would be saved with such a switch.

Been over the Beartooth many times with no issues. Twice with trailers lighter (3000#) and shorter (20') using a Dodge Dakota and a Toyota Tacoma. Both times were coming in from the north and were a breeze. I have seen larger, heavier trailers towed over the pass but do not know if the drivers regretted their choice in retrospect. Am not sure I would be concerned making the uphill pull coming in from the North towing our Legacy II with our F150 but would try to do it at off-peak travel time of day. Snow or heavy precip would cause me to re-route. Heading North out of YNP would involve a lot of elevation loss and give the brakes a serious workout. Would think twice about traveling that direction on the Beartooth without a heavy, capable TV.

Thank you for the heads-up!

Bears are a lot less likely to cause trouble than people. I fear for this mama and her cubs if she is teaching them to seek out food in campsites. Hope it does not turn out badly for them.

Unlikely that there is any leak potential unless the shell is seriously damaged. If there is just a gelcoat flaw, water will not penetrate further into the chopper gun layup. If there is structural damage under the gelcoat you can often tell by taking a small brass hammer and lightly tapping the area surrounding the crack as well as the cracked area itself and listen for a change in tone. Hard to explain the sound but fractured fibreglass has a distinct (hollow) sound as opposed to undamaged glass. It is really not too hard to repair a damaged section of glass and there is a ton of how-to info available on the web. It is very difficult to get that repair to exactly match the original color unless you can get Oliver to send you a bit of the gelcoat they use in manufacture. My first step would be to talk to Oliver for their recommendation. Your 2021 Oliver layup should still be under warrantee.

Today, getting to Alaska is a snap as the roads are pretty good. I have made the trip eight times from the West Coast and, while it was a bit of a challenge many years back when most of the route was gravel, today the entire route is paved with the exception of short sections on the Cassiar and even that is not a problem if your tow vehicle is up to the task. On the last trip I did not even lose a windshield, which was a first for me! By all means take your Oliver to Alaska. Think ahead, make sure you are prepared and then enjoy yourself ... the trip is spectacular.

Just discovered the beginnings of a single-occupant wasp nest under the rear streetside compartment where the stabilizing jack lives. A bit of looking around revealed a gap in the inside of the jack post alongside the mounting bracket where it pierces the outer hull. This gap is just short of 1/4" wide between the jack tube and mounting bracket which has not been completely sealed against bug / water entry. There is sealant going part way around the post on the outside of the jack tube but the median (more difficult to access from inside the trailer) portion of the tube was unsealed leaving a gap of about 1/4" wide x 3" long which allows easy bug access. Turns out both rear jacks share this bug access point due to a lack of sealent. Easy fix from underneath the trailer - just forced up silicone caulk from below. Any other entry points anyone is aware of on the Legacy II's? Screens over fridge, heater & water heater vents are obvious and screens are available at the Oliver service dept. - we had them put on when we picked up #770.

When you get to the beautiful Provincial Park on Boya Lake, check out the amazing beaver dam to be found at the end of a short hike out of the park. It is amazing... massive - makes me think beavers must use backhoes and bulldozers.

Vancouver Island is spectacular! Living literally within view of Vancouver Island, we have had the opportunity to visit the island a great deal, both by boat and by land. With only a week available you will only be able to scrape the surface. Victoria is a must followed by a visit to the outer coast near Tofino - great camping but weather is likely at that time of year ... luckily you have an Oliver. Vancouver Island is big - the largest island in North America. Those two areas will give you a feel of the island but there is so much more.

Topgun2 Would love to hear more about this dimmer switch! DIY'able?

I looked at this when I bought our 2021 F150. Came to the conclusion that, given the very small battery storage of the hybrid, you would probably not see much highway MPG help from the electric motor. I have not read any reports from actual users as to whether or not my concern is valid. The hybrid would give you more horsepower but that is kind of unnecessary as the standard 3.5 Ecoburst has more than enough power to handle the Legacy II. For what it is worth, I get about 11 to 11.5 MPG on average in the mountainous west where I live. The big tank is a plus and, at the time I was researching this issue, the hybrid had a somewhat smaller tank than my standard FX4 max tow package. A GREAT truck. Have been very pleased. The only downside is that the softer suspension, as compared to 3/4 tons, results in a bit of squat in the stern and some porposing. A set of air bags cured that issue.

I just measured the plate on my Legacy II - it measures .125".

I like John's idea of fabricating a larger plate. I would go much thicker than .032" (which is more like a foil than a plate). A 1/8" (.125) plate would be more appropriate and although 6061 is an excellent alloy for the application, it is a bit overkill and difficult to obtain in small quantities. Easily found 6063 or a variant is more common, less expensive and very much up to the task.

I can confirm this ramp will not work with the Legacy II. I tried mine out with no luck - one tire on ramp & the other stayed on the ground.

Yes they do. Our 2021 has the vents even though we chose lithiums. I would think, from a liability standpoint, it makes sense to leave them in place. If a change is made to standard wet cells, lack of ventilation could result in an explosion. Easy to add a layer of insulation inside the cover panel eliminating the ventilation and providing additional insulation to the lithiums in freezing weather. My plan is to use closed cell foam insulation attached to the cover with velcro so that the insulation can be easily removed. Our low temp over the winter was in the mid teens F and the battery temp never got below 40 degrees F. That with a small space heater set on low in the main cabin. We powered up the battery heating pad although I do not know if the BMS ever sent power to the pad. Also kept the Truma heater on during cold weather.

770 was not flushed, filled with fresh water nor was the fridge running when we arrived for PU last May. Expect to have to perform all this stuff upon delivery. It was however, very clean and otherwise ready to roll.

If you are willing to invest a week or two in a low-impact fix, try Kroil, repeatedly applied over a couple weeks. Amazing stuff and worshiped by folks who work in corrosive environments like salt water boat yards. Re-install with a quality anti-sieze. Not as much fun as the "bigger hammer" approach but more likely to leave you with functioning components. You can always bring out the bigger hammer later.

The chain provided by Anderson is too short and will require additional links to fit the Oliver ... at least the Legacy II - someone else with knowledge can chime in on the Legacy I. If you buy the Anderson from Oliver, they will set it up for you, including providing the extra necessary chain links. I also needed to lengthen the emergency brake cable by several inches to fit my 2021 F150. A bit more money buying from Oliver but, I think worthwhile in easing the workload during pickup day.

OnX also sells chips containing 24,000 (7.5 quad) topo maps of entire states. These chips can be utilized by devices, such as the many handheld Garmin GPS units which allow you to switch out micro sd cards. While quite spendy, about $100 per state when I bought WA and OR a couple years back, these cards give you seamless, high resolution topo map coverage for an entire state. As you move from one state to another you must change out chips as you go. As John Davies stated, you can download maps by region on both GAIA and also OnX. These maps are available in resolution from high to low depending on the size of the area covered - higher resolution comes at the cost of a smaller geographical area covered . This is fine if you have access to internet but is slow or impossible to update on the fly if done over cell signal. If you have marginal or no cell coverage, the option to download maps simply goes away. Files are quite large which means you either have to spring for a device with a great deal of memory or delete files when not in use to make space for new regions. I like using my I Phone or I Pad for day trips where cell signals are strong but find these devices lacking when signals are weak, non-existent or when your device has limited battery life ... these programs are energy hogs. When seriously hiking, I carry maps, compass and a dedicated backcountry GPS unit like the Garmin 66ST with pre-loaded, high resolution maps aboard.

Weight of our 2021 Legacy II with 30# tanks & 390 amp hour lithium package was 5020# dry weight at pickup according to Oliver.

Been over the Beartooth many times while pulling trailers. Last time was done using our old 2013 Tacoma & pulling a fairly light (3500# or so) trailer. The Tacoma made the pull from the North with ease during a fairly hot summer day. The road is quite good and presents no problems for a vehicle in decent shape. My concern would be heading back down the pass heading East ... I would want the brakes to be in good shape. I would not hesitate to tow our fairly light, well behaved Legacy II using our F150 with a 3.5.

You can also thru-bolt the bracket back on. A couple 1/4" bolts would be bombproof. I would suggest stainless carriage bolts - they have a clean, low profile look and are very strong. Drill hole in glass slightly oversized so that the square area behind the round bolt head seats tightly into the countersunk hole, keeping the bolt from turning when tightening. A bit of epoxy behind the bolt head will lock the bolt in. It also helps to rough up the back of the bracket to help the adhesive adhere. I am talking heavy scraping or even dimples drilled into the back of the bracket.

We went with the Standard bed option. My wife and I are retired, camp primarily by ourselves and leave the bed made up. When company arrives for dinner or a visit, we stuff the bedding in stuff sacks we have on hand (primarily a down comforter and a couple of sheets) and put it in the back seat of the pickup. We use 2" memory foam toppers split down the middle of the bed and encased in sheets - these we roll up and stuff in the back seat of the pickup along with bedding. The whole process is easy, takes just minutes and leaves you with a large table / seating arrangement. We have seated seven adults comfortably around the table. Gettng in and out of bed for a nighttime stroll is easy - just slide off the foot of the bed (we sleep with heads to the aft end of the trailer). Accessing valves / breakers under seats is no different than a twin - lift the cushion, prop it up with the lid and make your changes ... it may be incrementally more difficult than a twin setup but not enough to matter. The bed, with standard cushions and the toppers is extremely comfortable and it is HUGE. One issue you might consider with the standard is that the upgrade, latex cushions are very bulky, heavy and could be difficult to deal with if you have a standard model and wish to store the inserts while using the dining table. For this reason, when placing the order for our standard Oliver II, Rodney in sales suggested we go with the original (thinner) mattress style. Incidentally, I have found that, leaving the table up, the smaller beds on the standard model are still plenty big enough for me @ 5'9 & 180#.