Ralph Mawyer

Sounds cool. Don't suppose you have photos? 😉

Texas is not a boondocking state, unless you like Walmart. My preference out of SA going west is Balmoreah State Park past Ft. Stockton, then one of the Arizona state parks the next night. I've done a straight run to Arizona State Park for night one, but you have to enjoy 12 hour driving days. El Paso is 500 miles, slightly uphill and usually into the wind. Watch your gas levels. Even on I-10 it can be lonely out there..

One day from San Antonio to Sedona? 😉 Might put this in your toolkit. Wanderinglabs.com I used it a lot when my plans changed coming back from Yellowstone via Utah to San Antonio.

Thanks, missed that. So guess my drive back to Texas from Georgia was an experience of towing with just a normal hitch.

John Davies used to pull his OEII with a 200 series Land Cruiser, but he's no longer online, so... in case someone else might be using the Andersen WDH with a similar truck... My understanding is the Andersen manages weight distribution with the chains and sway control with the friction portion of the hitch. I’ve got a 17' Lexus 2013 LX 570, like Toyota Land Cruiser, but has hydraulic suspension leveling. GVWR is 7300lbs. Carrying capacity is rated at 1200 in the US, higher in Europe. I'm pulling a 23' Oliver II weighing approximately 6000lbs with hitch weight of 600lbs. Since the truck can manage the weight distribution via the suspension, much like with air bags, is there any reason not to just forgo the chain hassles and just use the hitch with the built in sway control? I did drive for 1000 miles without the chains being correctly adjusted when I first picked up, on the trip home. Some sway was noticeable, but not dramatic. The chains do tighten the load, but in most cases sway seems to be good when not hooked up. Thoughts?

It was just the last test stage for the new trailers...after the leak test.

Not at all. The bulk of owners rarely need major service support and while the service resources are more constrained now the build quality has remained the same. Over the years I’ve looked at Escape, Big Foot and Casita and factory service was never in the equation. The Oliver is complex, but the essence of the trailer remains unchanged.

The change sucks, BUT… At this point the quality of the trailer hasn’t changed, so buying another brand just because of this doesn’t make sense. Basically you have to factor in mediocre warranty service support, but for serious stuff they are still there. The nuance is that even at a vested dealer, RV tech turnover is high and they are dealing with all brands. Lack of systems expertise and scheduling will be the major issues. So component issues are probably readily addressed, but resolution of any electrical or plumbing issues are going to be dependent on the guy on the floor. I’d love to see them do an Oliver Certification for all the small RV repair shops many of us have found. And every dealer and their service manager should be at the rally.

Hopefully it goes well. Kind of a common truck around here. 🙂

So happy I had AC replacement and Lithium upgrade done last year. I think losing Q&A voice and email service support will be the biggest impact. No way local dealer is going to match that, though the allude to that still continuing.

FWIW, You can change the name on the reservation, so they are marketable. My house on a hill in San Antonio gets 30 sec less of the eclipse than Fredericksburg, so three years after making reservation...wondering why I'll be there. 😉 Some friends I booked with were starting to have second thoughts due to traffic.

When I was there in August for AC and battery upgrade, they were working on a DC-DC charging solution option. Tried to convince them to prototype it on my rig, but didn’t bite, as expected.

If ready to move now, there’s an awesome, fully loaded Elite 2 listed on the Olivers for sale Facebook page. 2023 @ $92k, if I temper correctly. At least $10k off retail. TN location.

I originally towed my 17’ Casita with a 1997 80 Series LX. Foot to the floor to move its 3500lbs. Got the 2007 100 series LX and it was much nicer, but still heavy pedal for any incline. Got a 2013 200 Series LX and it was like having a diesel when pulling the Casita. Then got the Oliver II, felt like it was the 100 series and the Casita again. I love the 200 for what it can do when not hooked up and it handles the mountains fine, just have to be happy to be in 4th at 3000 rpm much of that time. So, at 5000lbs you can use the 100 series. But you will be constrained. Now the Elite 1 and the 200 series, my perfect combination. 🙂

Bet they would go if you could get 10 pre-paid reservations. 😉. We did discuss how they might do a fly-in, but the gear load is pretty extreme.