routlaw

I agree, those two vehicles are just pushing the safety envelop too much for me. I'm sure they would be fine with the smaller Elite but not the Elite II. Its also worth pointing out that you will never reach a 4600 lb dry weight, once we added in the options (fiber granite, solar, 4 batteries etc) ours came out to just a tad below 5100 lbs. Add water, two tanks of propane and all the goods to go on a camping trip and you're easily past 6000 lbs and closer to 500 lbs tongue weight. We use an F150 with the Eco Boost engine, Super Crew Cab and long bed with a 157" wheel base and love it, works great. I wouldn't want to be without a truck myself and don't find them to be that much more difficult to maneuver than the mid size SUV's. Perhaps a little but to us the advantages far out weigh the disadvantages. All of the big 3 trucks are not like the ones of yesteryear either, they all drive like sports sedans in a bigger box, very smooth, quiet, agile ride with great handling given what they are. That said I've also seen Stans Durango its a really nice rig, and if not using a full size truck this would also be on the top of my list for a tow vehicle, maybe the Ford "Exploder" as a distant second. Hope this helps.

I'm in MT and might be heading down that way shortly. Actually been meaning to be on the road already just had some distractions lately. Doubt I will make it as far south as souther AZ but certainly gong through UT. Be glad to show you mine if its convenient.

Yes that is correct, and by definition wet cells would imply the standard type of battery such as the T-105's that has been in use for eons. The AGM are maintenance free and do have some advantages though I'm not sure how well they perform in cold weather compared to a wet cell. Correct too on the 450 AH rating with the four combined. At this point I'm convinced we could stay off the grid virtually indefinitely for at least 3 out of 4 seasons, running out of water and propane quicker than we would run out of electricity. Excessive use of the furnace and low sun angle with short days would preclude ideal charging rates and probably prevent obtaining staying off the grid during the winter months for long lengths of time.

That sounds about right to me roughly .4 to half a volt drop every week to week and a half by leaving 12 volts sources active with their parasitic draw. Don't know if you did the solar package or not, but our experience from this first year is we never run out of DC volts even camping in dappled light or partially shaded conditions. This past autumn we spent two weeks completely off the grid down in the SW and never came close to depleting our batteries. They charged to 100% every day. Earlier in the summer we spent about two weeks in the Glacier NP area and while we didn't get a 100% charge on most days due to the shade and or dappled light, we never came close to depleting the reserves having roughly low to mid 90's% charge each day. We used electricity liberally as needed just to see how far things could be pushed. The long and short of it is we have been delighted not only with our winter storage of the batteries but also the charging capabilities.

Thats not what I said, totally aware of what you're talking about. The power to the Oliver was completely shut down via the two switches/breakers underneath the driver side bed. Had I left those breakers on the parasitic draw would have depleted the batteries within a month or two max. I hope this helps.

There is no electricity at the storage facility so you are right it was not plugged in, but by all means all switches were off so there was no parasitic drain to the batteries.

Many have been concerned, myself included, with how well a battery pack stores in the winter especially if left outside. So with this being our first winter with the Oliver and its 4 pack of Trojan wet cells the following is what we have found. The long and short of it is there is nothing to worry about. We've had a fairly cold winter up here above the 45th parallel and keep our Oliver stored at an RV storage facility with overhead roof but not enclosed. I'll admit we were a bit concerned about leaving the batteries out in the cold for this long of a period although I know a fully charged battery is supposed to be good for something like 90 below zero. So over the winter I went out to check on them 3 times, after a month and half they had dropped from 12.92 to 12.87, and just yesterday I checked again for the 3rd time this winter and the pack was still at 12.84. Thats still a fully charged battery after 4-5 months in a MT winter. I hope this helps to alleviate any concerns for those in the northern hinterlands regarding battery problems. Granted for those of you living along the gulf coast and in the south its not a concern. The thought of unhooking all those batteries, taking them out storing at the house then re-installing later didn't seem like a good plan either.

Wow! Had no idea Robert left. Interesting though. Are Alicia and Anita still with the company?

Because we don't use a MW at home likewise we also opted out of the MW in our Oliver. Besides like Sherry its rare we camp where there is electricity. We use the storage for coffee and tea items and few other things and get way better use from the space for us. But to that we did contemplate installing a toaster over in this area with slide out drawer, never got around to it and don't miss it. And again we aren't usually around electricity anyway.

John I can't answer your question directly since I paid for our Oliver out of saved funds and didn't finance it, but for a short period of time I did consider this route given the price of admission. Talked with the local bank where I have had my business accounts for years and they seemed very understanding of the situation and it didn't seem like a big deal to them, i.e. order, wait then pick up when ready while banks provides funds to keep the ball rolling as needed. I can't vouch for larger regional or national banks which I often refer to as the "children of satan" but my guess is most local smaller banks will work with you on this level. Remember they are in the business for making profit from financing things so its also in their best interest to make situations like this work. A deposit is required as you probably already know to get on the waiting list and that is 15% unless it changed since we ordered ours. I would assume this would suffice for the banks requirement of a downpayment, but again thats up to the lending institution. Typically another 35% will be required at the time the build actually starts, then the remaining 50% at pick up. Also worth mentioning, at the time I discussed the option of financing with my local banks, the interest rate was really very low, something like 2.9% if memory serves me right. Hope this helps to some degree.

No not at all saying that. We do not have leaking windows, nor do we have leaks at the solar panels well at least not yet anyway. What I'm referring to is the mounting system for the awning allows water in a heavy downpour to flow down the side of the trailer and onto the windows below. As previously stated I'm talking about torrential downpours here. IOW's the awning does not prevent what one poster was hoping for, that being a replacement for the EZ gutter system by using the awning. In a mild shower, yes it does prevent water running onto the window exterior. Hope this helps. Routlaw, are you saying hat you are having leaking problems where the awning mounts attach to the trailer?? I would think Oliver would have a bomb proof seal there, as well as at the solar mounts. Is water entering the interior of your trailer from this area, or dripping down between the two shells and out the weep holes? Doesn't sound good either way if this is the case. Dave

I concur with what Dave states above, the awning will not eliminate water running over the windows. We've been in a few torrential downpours and water will seep through the awning mounts on the FG shell. I suppose one could get up above the awning while its retracted and caulk that long seam which might prevent any water from running through however.

As some of the others have suggested we also roll our clothes and stack in the bins above the bed. Old habits from Navy days for me. The closet up front however is used for more utility items, small hand vacuum, rags of sorts, owners manual and litany of things like that. Like Marsha we also have the king bed which allows for tons of storage in bins or what have you below the bed. Its almost more trouble than its worth to store things in the "basement" so we rarely use those spaces so far unless its stuff we know we will never need, which makes me wonder why its even along. But as a rule the clothing really doesn't get too jumbled as long as you stack & pack neatly and tight. Bill (topgun2) next time you're out in Big Sky Country stop by for a visit. We live in the heart of trout fishing here in the Bozone as its affectionately called.

Bill you have it correct. But just to describe the procedure a bit more, here goes. On the newer Oliver's there is a water inlet in the lower right rear of the camper just to the outside of the storage area for black and gray water hoses. From there you can either winterize the system or pump additional fresh water into the fresh water holding tank. All you need is a tank/bucket of water, roughly 5 gals or more, a hose about 1.5' in length screwed into this inlet, turn the two water valves under the curb side bed into bypass mode while the pump is on. Automatically the pump will start siphoning water out of the water can and into the fresh water tank. 5-8 gals of pumping should take no longer than about 5 minutes max probably less. We use this all the time on our trips. Very easy to do. I believe what Dave was referring to is the inlet being situated on the inside of the storage area for the drain hoses. Not a good idea IMO, but this changed shortly after he picked up his Oliver. It could be that some of the earlier Oliver's did not have this function or capability, not sure though.

Agreed, they don't sway. Well not enough to make an issue out of it. Our F150 also has electronic sway control when towing and as far as I can tell given some of the harrowing experiences we have had on the road since pick up date I would say it works very well indeed. I assume that most other modern day tow vehicles have similar technologies for sway control while towing. The long and short of it is don't worry about it. You'll be fine without a weight distribution hitch or sway control bars. Ollies don't sway. I have removed the Anderson hitch and added air bags for balance and weight. No hook up issues...just push a button to inflate/deflate the bags.

Welcome John, If you haven't already I would suggest you invest in a factory tour of the Oliver plant in TN. I think once you have gone there many if not all of these concerns might be put to rest. In the meantime I'll throw my two ¢ worth in on what I know. Rear receiver? Not sure that would work and still allow for the fold down bumper to access gray and black water tank flushes and its aluminum not heavy duty steel so the tongue weight depending upon what you want to tow behind the Oliver might push the envelop of safety. Gravel protection: Not sure how a truck bedliner would help to prevent gravel issues, but perhaps mud flaps on the tow vehicle might help to some degree. On the other hand you could take your Oliver to one of the companies that apply bedliners to truck beds and have them do the same to the lower quadrants of the Oliver front. So far it has not been an issue for us. Off road coupler: I agree here with Pete, the Bulldog hitch/coupler is about as heavy duty and easy to use as anything on the planet. I can't imagine an off road coupler being any better. Lifted suspension: I'm not aware of any options for lifted suspension but not sure you need it with 18" of ground clearance on the stock trailer. Removable doorstep: I've been over BLM and forest service roads, gravel roads, jeep trails already and with some fairly steep descents or ascents and never felt the need to remove the doorstep. In summary let me say the Oliver as a stock unit is about as well thought out and heavy duty as anything on the market that I am aware and I've looked at a lot of campers over the last decade. Living in MT and traveling around the Rocky Mountains I feel your concerns about taking it into the backcountry. As long as there is room to maneuver, i.e. backing in and out of places, I've yet to see too many places where I wouldn't take our Oliver, including but not limited to UT red rock country where things can get real dicey quickly. Hopefully this helps. Hi, For example, Can I get a cassette toilet installed, and replace the black tank with an extra fresh tank? Can I get disc brakes? I just asked that in another section..... How much is a rear receiver? How much for gravel protection (bed liner and mudflaps)? Can I get an offroad coupler in place of the Bulldog? How much is the lifted suspension and what exactly is it? Spring over conversion or longer shackles? How many inches over stock? Can I get a removable doorway step, so I can unbolt it when venturing onto rough forest roads? It would be really cool if owners could describe all their FACTORY mods and options in a new section. Please include the cost if known! Also describe whether you feel that option was worth getting, or if you have second thoughts or a suggestion for a better alternative. As always, post pictures! Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA USA

Following this.. We pick up our Oliver on 12/10. We live in South Dakota. We are wondering about how low a temperature people have camped in (running furnace) without freezing problems (I mean the camper not us). The place we plan to store it will be 40 degrees (heated hangar). At what point do we need to winterize ..i.e. How long can it set at 40 or do we need to do anything for storage at that temp.? Thanks Linda We live in just down the road a piece in MT (Bozeman) and have camped in some quite cold weather. In fact just after our pickup back in Mar we were in TN where each night got down into the low and mid teens with nary a problem. Heat of the day barely reached freezing or above. We've since hit a few other nights out with close to those temps at night. If you have a heated storage shed @ 40º you should be fine without winterizing this assumes of course that the area does not loose power due to winter storms. It happens here so wouldn't think it would be all that unusual there. Its my understanding that water lines can take a couple of days of freezing temps before issues start to occur so there is a buffer of sorts. I don't have to tell you though if its windy and freezing temps all bets are off on how long the tanks and water lines will hold up. Regardless its fairly easy with the Oliver system to winterize your camper. Takes about two gallons of the potable anti freeze, the pink stuff to complete the task and an hour or so of your time. Do be diligent about emptying all tanks and lines first, thats the most important part. Fully charged batteries should be good to about 90 below zero or so I'm told, but you might check on them throughout the winter months to be sure they are doing ok. Hope this helps.

We have a whole house water purification system as well and have often wanted something similar for our Oliver, however the taste of water from the holding tanks with or without purification is… shall we say less than desirable. Not sure what it is about these holding tanks that impart such an ugly taste when by comparison you can buy purified water all over the country in gallon to 2.5 gal plastic containers that do not impart this nasty taste. This is not something unique to Oliver all RV's have this problem. So on our last trip we just broke down and bought gal jugs of water, and will probably continue to do so. This system looks promising though I'm not sure I would want to use the chlorine supplement. So can you run the pump from your 12 volt system? Thanks

Just saw this thread. Stan and Carol Moyer have a Durango and use it to tow an Elite II, they visited us this past summer here in MT on their way up to Glacier NP. I believe Carol said they got 12 mpg regardless of where they were, apparently it didn't change much due to conditions. I don't recall them mentioning anything about issues with this tow vehicle for the Elite II, so I would say you're good to go if dead set on a Durango. We use a 2013 F-150 with Eco Boost engine and it does great even on steep slopes/grades outperforming any non diesel V8 I've ever driven. Back in Oct we were down in the Four Corners area and averaged 14.5 MPG for the entire trip. There are lots of steeps grades between MT and the area as well as upon arrival, and some travel unhitched and not towing. Generally at 60-65 mpg we tend to get approximately 13-14 mpg towing our Elite II, unless we hit heavy winds or constant steep grades. I love trucks for their versatility but realize they are not for everyone. The 2015-16's newer model Ford trucks took it up a few more notches in overall design, comfort, support and performance and better gas milage to boot. This truck is our only vehicle currently, but we live in an area where we can walk or ride bikes to do the vast majority of any errands we need. Typically while at home a tank of gas will last a month to a month and a half bare minimum and often two months. Like Gary we have the larger gas tank, well worth it. FWIW in the conversation our daughter and son in law have a RAM 1500 with 5.7 Hemi, but just recently bought an Expedition with Eco Boost engine too. They looked at the Durango but felt it was not large enough for their needs and preferred the Expedition over the Suburban by some margin. To early to tell about their MPG, but it is a very nice rig with some accommodations the trucks do not have. Not sure if they implemented the aluminum bodies on this vehicle yet. Hope this helps.

Thanks folks, got busy over the last couple of weeks and have not had time to followup on this, but plan to soon, so stay tuned as the saying goes.

The two we rely on the most are Allstays Camp and RV and The Ultimate Campground Project. Wouldn't be without either, but on occasion will also use RecGovCamp if we know we need reservations on government campgrounds, i.e. Nat Parks etc.

Absolutely using the LP mode in Glacier, we were off the grid the entire time, no hook ups. Freezer froze, fridge kept everything very cool or cold. IOW's we had no problem what so ever with cooling or freezing. Just got back from a two week trip to the SW, same thing off the grid for two solid weeks, no generators using our 4 pack Trojans and all solar and fridge using LP. Temps were in the mid to high 80's with a day or two knocking on the door of 90. It really does work well.

I concur with what Steve said. We have been out in our Elite II many days with temps not only in the mid to high 80's but also well into the 90's and some days this past summer in the Glacier NP probably into triple digits. We know for sure that the Flathead Valley hit 109º one day while in the area with days on either side of this a few degrees cooler yet still triple digit heat. Glacier stays a tad bit cooler but make no mistake it was HOT. I'm a bit of a gourmet ice cream maker and always like to take some along with us and it has always remained frozen, not rock hard, but frozen enough to scoop a bit easier. We keep the setting on the fridge at the mid way point which is 3 dots out of 5. I will add though we still keep a cooler or ice chest along with us, if for no other reason to have some cold drinks after a long hot hike, or bike ride. Hope this helps.

Thnaks and yep, dead serious. You're time will come too. Enjoy when you get it. Will post some more photos of campgrounds later. rob

Howdy All We just got back from a two week trip to the southwest, exploring ruins, rock art and canyons. We were off the grid the entire time solely dependent on our solar system with 4 Trojan batteries. Never even came close to tapping into the electric reserves. A couple of nights were chilly enough to run the furnace but we did accomplish this on less than one 20 lb tank of propane. The coldest night out was in the Madison River Valley here in MT fist night out. Most days were cloudless and I do mean not a cloud in the sky with temps ranging in the low to high 80s most days with a few in the mid 70's. It was unseasonably warm even this far south but overall beautiful weather. Overall gas mileage was 14.3 mpg for the entire RT. Though a few tanks dipped below this especially in the steep hill climbs around the mesas in UT and AZ with many grades in the 5-8% range. Tow rig is a Ford F150 with Eco-Boost engine. Thought I would share a few campground pics with the Oliver for those interested in adventuring off to the area.