Steve and MA

Sites 55, 56, 57, 58 & 60

Sites 44, 47, 48, 52 & 54

Sites 38, 39, 40, 42 & 43

Sites 33, 34, 35, 36 & 37

Sites 20,21, 22, 23 & 32

Sites 13,15,16,18 & 19

We counted 45 Olivers camped this morning. What follows are pictures of each campsite, as well as a video showing folks at the Monday meet & greet. We'll start with the video, then post a few pictures at a time. Others, please post your pictures too. Monday Meet & Greet.MOV

The hose on ours pinches easily when in use, restricting flow. The hose is quite soft, so it doesn't take a sharp bend for it to collapse. Before taking off the panel insert to check under the sink, make sure the hose isn't slightly pinched when it's pulled out. It took us a few uses to figure this out.

We travel with a lightweight work platform. It comes in handy for many things, including easier access to the 30 lb propane tanks. They're not nearly as difficult to remove and replace using the platform as they would be if I were standing on the ground

I think the grey tank is below the lowest part of the insulated floor. This is a picture taken at the factory from the front of the trailer before the inner hull had been installed. You can see the L-shaped grey tank is the full width of the floor where the basement access would be.

Small white fiberglass travel trailers are often compared in appearance to an egg. There's an old joke about why the French only eat one egg for breakfast - because one is "Un Œuf" (anglicized pronunciation "enough"). We feel our LE2 is more than Un Œuf for us.

We've had two rubber valve stem failures on our LE2 fitted with TPMS sensors. Fortunately, both were slow leaks. Rubber stems can crack due to the flexing from the extra weight of the sensor. Ours are TPMS sensors from TST that they claim can be used on rubber valve stems. Our TV has metal valve stems also fitted with TPMS sensors, but they're not immune to failure. Even the rubber gasket on a metal stem can leak. I think part of the problem is that the sensors are difficult to remove, so the stems get flexed more than they should when adjusting tire pressure. As already mentioned, the electric jacks can be used for tire changing as long as you're still hitched and the TV parking brake is set. It's much more convenient than carrying another jack. Also, is the wire wrapped around the axle from the tire's steel belts?

We just had to remove and replace the spare last week while on a trip to Roswell NM. It was the first time we had to do this on the road. A slow leak developed on one of the tires. We aired it back up, but after about 10 miles it needed to be topped off again. We were on US 380, about 50 miles from the nearest tire service so we decided to switch to the spare. We found a safe pullout for the tire change (not easy on this highway with its narrow shoulders). The spare can be rolled along the bumper once the retaining screw has been removed so you don't have to reach over the basket to lift it. The basket did have to come out a little more than 5 inches, but it didn't have to be removed completely. We don't carry a lot of weight in the bins, so sliding the cargo tray in/out was easy. Sure, it would have been easier if it wasn't there, but it wasn't difficult. It helped to have two people. The wheel and tire weigh about 60 lbs. The fiberglass cover is much less. I did the lifting and MA helped with the alignment and getting the retaining screws threaded when putting it back together. If you're going to the Texas rally next month then we can show you, you can try for yourself.

We don't usually connect to city water. We have a filter and softener system mounted in our TV and use it to fill the fresh tank. Recently we added a UV purification faucet to our LE2, mounted by the kitchen sink. We use it for ice and drinking water.

Traditional vs inverter A/C? The compressors on traditional roof mounted A/C units cycle on/off, and run at only one speed when on. They typically require soft start circuitry when powered by a small generator. Roof mounted inverter A/C units use a variable speed compressor. They tend to be quieter and more energy efficient than traditional units, and the compressors don't cut on and off suddenly (and loudly). These units don't require a soft start add on since the compressors already start up slowly. Inverter A/C units that run on 12 volts DC are popular with the off-grid camper van folks. I'm only aware of two 120 volts inverter A/Cs available (in the USA) today; the Turbro mentioned previously in this thread by @jd1923, and the Furrion Chill Cube. The Furrion is not low profile, but the Turbro is. I have neither, but if I were shopping for a new A/C today I would look at these first.

JD, good summary of the DIY options posted in this forum for a quiet AC. There's one other that's been mentioned in previous threads that's much quieter than the Penguin 2, but it's another Dometic product, the Fresh Jet. An advantage of this unit is that it requires no modification to use with the existing internal drain lines. I'm surprised that it hasn't been discussed more than it has in this forum. There was an LE2 owner at the Oct '24 Texas rally that had this upgrade. (Sorry, forgot whose LE2 it was.) It wasn't as quiet as the Houghton; its noise level was comparable to the Truma to my ears. It would be worth considering if the internal drain is important to you.

Well, I put one of these grills in my shopping cart on the Sansujyuku webstore, but did not follow through due to the price fluctuations. Today I was contacted by another seller, GW Store, asking if I still wanted to order the grill. Sounded odd since I had never contacted GW before and didn't know who they were. They already had my shipping address and asked if I wanted to finish the order, at the regular retail price of $329. No thanks, I cancelled. JD, I know you're on the road. Did you save the box the grill was shipped in. It might be telling whether Sansujyuku shows as the sender, or someone else. A little research (below) reveals that Sansujyuku is likely to be a scammer. Though they do deliver to some customers, others have simply been cheated out of their money with no product delivered. You did receive your grill, but it could still be a scam. One of the tricks is for the scammer to set up fake ID credit card accounts, then they take your order and use their fake ID account to pay and have the product shipped to you from another vendor. The scammer gets your money. The actual product is effectively stolen; either the credit card company or the vendor that actually shipped the product takes the loss. I'm not saying that's the case with your purchase, but you know the old saying, if it sounds too good to be true.... https://www.trustpilot.com/review/sansujyuku.com

We have a Clearsource Ultra water filter and Blu Tech water softener mounted in our TV. We rarely connect the trailer directly to city water and instead fill its fresh tank with filtered and softened water. We've been wanting to add a UV water filter for drinking water, but until recently haven't found one that uses 12v power that we liked. Blu Tech recently introduced their UVC Purification Faucet and it's just what we were looking for. UV water filters haven't been discussed very much on this forum, and since this is a new product there's not much information about it on the internet. We decided to go for it anyway. This YouTube video review was posted earlier today, about a week after we bought one. You may ask, why do we want a UV filter? It makes sense for us because we don't want to carry around disposable bottles of drinking water. We want to be confident that our filtered and softened tap water is safe for drinking. Since our "pure" water sits in a reservoir for a week or longer, even if unlikely, microbial contamination is still possible. The UV filter is our final defense against pathogens. The install in our Oliver was very easy. It does require drilling a hole in the countertop, but the Blu Tech UVC faucet looks like it belongs there. The kit came with a 120 volt AC adapter that supplies the UVC faucet with 12 volts DC at 2 amps. We don't always run the inverter and we're not always on shore power. For our install we ditched the AC adapter and purchased a DC5521 connector so we could wire directly to a 12 volt circuit. The Norcold refrigerator is on a 20 amp fuse, so we tapped into its power supply and added a 3 amp fuse at the splice. Blu Tech doesn't supply a separate DC5521 connector for direct wiring, and we didn't want to cut it off from the supplied ac adapter in case we need to send it back. Besides the DC connector, we also had to purchase the parts to tie it into our freshwater line. The faucet requires 1/4 inch PEX. We inserted a threaded t-connector with a 1/4 inch PEX fitting in-between the existing cold water PEX to braided stainless faucet fitting under the sink. After installation I saw that the counterweight for the kitchen faucet hose bumped against the new t-connector. We used zip ties to hold the water lines away from the counterweight when it goes up/down. So far so good. A blue light glows at the faucet base when the water is running. The style of the faucet is a close match to the original.

We don't have this grill...yet. It's been around for years at over $300, but hard to resist for just $201. It gets high marks from several reviewers and does well in comparison tests. Since the PitmasteRx reviewer didn't show its regulator in his video, I was pointing out that the manufacturer offers a low-pressure RV connector. If this grill had high pressure burners it wouldn't be possible (or at least not practical) to use the RV quick connects. I have a Camp Chef stove with two 20,000 BTU high pressure propane burners. Its regulator has to be connected directly to a propane tank to get full heat. I've rigged it to connect to the RV propane quick connects and it works, but the burners just put out a fraction of their maximum. The main complaint reviewers have with the TravelQ PRO285 is with the short (20 inch) hose for 20 lb tanks, and that it's incompatible with 1 lb bottles. I agree that even a 6' hose is too short. If we decide to get one, then I'd put a quick connect nipple directly on the grill. We already have several quick connect extension hoses of various lengths.

JD, that's a great deal for a Napoleon grill. Thanks for sharing. GJ, apparently the video is misleading. The manufacturer offers a low-pressure RV hose as an option.

I've read and participated on this form for over 4 years. There's always been a strong bias expressed in favor of 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. I think some of the cautionary feedback is coming from this bias. Initially I towed with a 2016 GMC Canyon Diesel using the Anderson hitch and it performed just fine for me. I don't disagree that a heavier truck is a better (more stable) TV. My current TV is a Mercedes 3500 van, but the main reason for the van is cargo, not tow, capacity. Wasn't the question of the BW Continuum hitch setup the point of this thread? The Sierra EV curb weight is over 8500 lbs. That's about 1000 lbs more than a Sierra 3500. I don't think an Anderson, BW Continuum or any other anti-sway or weight distributing hitch would be needed with a Sierra EV in combination with an Oliver LE2. I can't find that GMC has a hitch recommendation. As far as driving dynamics are concerned, the Sierra EV will probably be a great TV without a special hitch. As to the range anxiety that some have raised, maybe that's an issue for some. I think you've stated your expectations well and an EV will work for your use case. Until someone tries, we won't know how well an EV truck performs in real life. Keep us posted. Steve

Both doors clear the front basket when the trailer is straight behind, but one door or the other will stop at the basket if not close to straight. The van probably should be discussed under the Towing an Oliver topic. I've gotten several questions about it recently due to its appearance at the rally. I'll probably start a Sprinter van as TV thread sometime soon. On Tuesday night 5/6 the park was maybe 10-15% occupied. There are about 100 sites, but less than half are premium waterfront with the large concrete parking pads. I didn't notice a swimming beach area on the lake. There's a swimming pool though. More info here: Roosevelt State Park

It's a 2021 3500xd cargo van with 144" wheelbase rated for 7500 lbs towing, 750 lbs tongue weight. Cargo capacity is 5600 lbs. The relatively low towing limit (for a one ton truck) is because of its unit body construction. The dually rear wheels keep the rig quite stable, even in the severe crosswinds we've encountered on IH-10 in New Mexico. The 1500 and 2500 Sprinters as well as the extended body 177" wheelbase 3500's have a 5000 lb max tow rating.

This post is just an FYI. On the way back home to TX from the rally, we looked for a convenient overnight stop along IH-20 and made an uninformed selection of Roosevelt State Park just east of Jackson MS. It turned out to be a lucky guess. It's just 5 minutes off the interstate and has some of the best campsite parking pads that we've run across anywhere. The premium sites are better than what most private RV parks have to offer; they're large, level and deep. Only one of the premium sites isn't on the waterfront, #37, which is the only pull-through. We picked it without seeing it or any of the other sites because we didn't want to unhitch for our quick overnight stop. It turned out that all of the premium sites are deep and level enough that we wouldn't have had to unhitch our trailer. Our luck was even better because through the 22nd this month the sites are half price. The park staff told us that they had been closed for renovations for about a year and recently reopened. The special pricing is to encourage people to rediscover the park. Regular daily prices are $47 weekdays & $57 weekends for premium, or $37 or $47 respectively for regular sites on weekdays or weekends. The regular sites are also nice, but they consist of smaller asphalt strips that aren't as large as the premium sites and may require you to unhitch to level the trailer. The state park prices are less than what many less desirable private RV parks charge and was especially a bargain at $23.50 for our one-night stay. We plan to go back before or after next year's rally, expecting to pay the regular daily price. In the picture you can see the size of the site. We didn't take a picture of a waterfront site because it was raining most of the time we were there, but all the premium sites have similar sized concrete pads, easily big enough for 4 LE2s (though only enough hookups for one). Steve

The disadvantages of an Airstream for 2-3 x the cost 😉