John Welte
-
Posts
626 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
3
Posts posted by John Welte
-
-
On 7/24/2021 at 7:07 PM, FrankC said:
We towed with a 2017 Expedition EL initially. It was ok for towing as equipped with the Ford factory max tow package, but on long steep grades the 3.5 liter V6 eco-boost engine was really working hard. And your tow rating of 6,600 sounds really low to tow an Elite II. The 4,600 lbs Elite II weight number you quoted is the empty dry weight without any options, with empty tanks, and with no personal belongings, food, etc. Most people end up well over 5,000 lbs if not closer to 6,000 lbs. Do you have the full factory max tow package? Ours as equipped with the Ford factory max tow package was rated at 9,000 lbs towing or so. But it did require the Andersen weight distribution hitch. But we upgraded though to a Ford F-250 because of cargo / payload capacity. Most people overlook that rating in their tow vehicle selection. Check the sticker on your Expedition driver’s door jamb for the cargo/payload capacity. Ours was only about 1,500 lbs. And with 2 adults plus luggage, a loaded cooler of food, camping gear plus the tongue weight of the Oliver of 500 to 600 lbs, and you’ll find that you hit your cargo / payload limit pretty quickly. The F-250 as ours is equipped has 12,600 lbs towing and 3,334 lbs payload capacity. And it doesn’t require the Andersen weight distribution hitch.
Expedition towing the Elite II
The F-250 towing the Elite II
The do not exceed number on the door jam of the 2017 Expedition is 1408 pounds. Because it's a 4x4 EL they list max towing capacity of 9,200 pounds. Maybe keep the weight in the trailer and the tv weight low.
-
53 minutes ago, Cameron said:
I'm very happy with the Nature's Head. But, I get that it's not for everyone. I'd imagine a sort of calculus before deciding:
- Will most of my nights (more than 50%) be spent with hookups at more organized campgrounds?
- When moving from site to site, am I confident (more than 90%) that I'll easily be able to find an operating free/cheap dump station?
- Does the brief sight/smell of poo/pee make me uneasy?
- Does the thought of maintenance, including disassembling the head and dumping the compost, as well as pulling out the pee bottle and carrying it outside sound super gross?
- Does the thought of occasionally wiping down poop/pee from the bowl freak you out?
If the answer to these questions is "Yes!" then stick with the standard toilet.
Very useful checklist. I am leaning towards the conventional toilet now. To be brutally honest, for years we had a toilet in our pop up trailer but used it only for pee. We usually camp in state campgrounds.
-
3 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:
How does one handle loose stools or diarrhea?
Good question. Hopefully we will get an answer from someone that has a composting toilet. Very good question though.
-
Hi all, so I am looking at ordering an Oliver and am leaning towards a composting toilet. My wife is struggling with the ick factor, but I think dealing with a black tank has a certain ick factor for me as she would most likely be in the tv reading a book while I was out dealing with the clean out. I don't see any down side other than it's not as attractive a toilet as the standard one. Not a big concern and a composting toilet allows for boondocking. Has anyone experienced a con with these toilets?
-
On 8/4/2021 at 4:17 AM, John E Davies said:
There are countless Web articles on “RV winter storage”, Google that term, watch some videos. Bottom line is, how much time (and money) are you willing to dedicate to keeping track of your Ollie? An uncovered commercial parking spot will require frequent visits to clear off snow, ice, or leaf accumulation and make sure everything is OK. An open but covered one with power is lots better, a fully enclosed one is WAY better (and the risk of collision damage or theft drops to near zero). A fabric cover offers protection but has its own risks and major hassles, such as making sure it and the hull are clean before use. You have to balance convenience, cost, location, drive time and security against your own preferences and worries. We had an owner here who had to drive six hours round trip to visit his trailer! It can be a tough and potentially very expensive conundrum, depending on your climate and home location. I feel sorry for owners who cannot store their Ollie at home, things are a lot tougher when it is far away...
I live in a private development; of the thirty houses here, about 12 have attached, fully enclosed RV bays. Which is the main reason we picked this spot….. being able to use your Ollie as an emergency shelter during a power outage, or as a guest bedroom, or even walk naked out to your Ollie in a blizzard - if you wanted to 😳- is priceless. I don’t even bother to winterize, the temp there has never dropped below 38 degrees. Plus it saves many thousands of $ in storage and travel costs.
Where are you located? It helps us to give better recommendations if you will add that info, and your tow vehicle, to a signature.
John Davies
Spokane WA
I live in Beaverton, Oregon. Tow vehicle will be 2017 Ford Expedition with heavy duty tow package. I tried to find how to add that to my signature. I am not too tech savvy however.
-
-
Hi all, I looked for this topic, but didn't see it. If I can find it under another thread let me know. Obviously the best way to store your trailer is in a climate controlled garage, but if that is not available how do you store yours? There are storage facilities that have covered areas with roof only. Is that adequate? Those same facilities have open storage, but would it be wise to put an RV cover over your trailer in those places or would it generate too much heat and damage the finish, etc? Thanks for any suggestions or input.
-
It's reassuring to me. Thanks for your response.
-
How long does it take to wax the trailer? Are there any power tools that make the job easier? In looking at the "leaking" thread earlier, it appears that some people have had leaking issues, so I would assume that prior to waxing, a person goes around and inspects and reseals any areas.
-
5 hours ago, Detourist said:
Greetings, all y’all -
We’re Mike and Christy from Oklahoma, retired and pretty good at it.
We ordered our 2022 Elite II in February, Hull 970, and are in line for delivery the first week in December. Following the wisdom of the Forum, we now have a pretty good idea of what to expect as owners of a EII. We are updating from a 40 sq ft pop up camper to the new space - with amenities of an Ollie. Looking forward to seeing all y’all on the road!
Mike
Is a ten month lead time usual? I hope to order ours in early September for summer delivery. I would be ok with ten months as that would be July delivery
-
On 6/30/2021 at 11:38 AM, Jim_Oker said:
Yeah, good tip. I decided to just pay for the convenience to reduce the number of things I would be doing myself to get the trailer tuned for our first camping outings. I also priced getting good quality custom fit latex mattresses from a reputable local mattress place and found that the Oliver option was actually way less $$ believe it or not.
Provided that my wife sees it the same way, we should be ordering our Oliver in the next six weeks as we will have an in-office meeting with our financial planner then. The planner has already given the green light. After we get it we should pick your brains about how to best use it here in the PNW (Oregon) as you have already dealt with the same issues in Washington.
-
1
-
-
Thanks John
-
On 6/16/2015 at 9:50 PM, ScubaRx said:
There have been multiple threads on the FGRV forum concerning trailer security. Everyone has their own opinion and method and I agree that, depending on your personal beliefs, they could include simple diligence, locks, fences, chains, whips, guard dogs, guns, cameras, claymore mines, trunk monkeys and a moat. Those folks that are un-inclined to subscribe to any of the aforementioned tactics seem to just rely on good insurance. I employ some of these methods myself but if my trailer suddenly sprouts legs and walks off, I want to be able to find it and perhaps use some of the other methods on those folks that helped it along. I started investigating electronic counter measure devices to do just that. I looked at the SPOT Satellite Messenger. I didn’t find the initial cost of about $150.00 too bad. It uses your GPS location and sends it and preselected message to communication satellites which route your location and message to the appropriate network to get you help. It is obviously designed for and intended to be used by a person while traveling in remote regions and it does have good coverage. The best service plan will cost about $200.00 per year. For those folks that may only travel a few weeks of the year, that might be beyond what they are comfortable spending. I continued to look. There are several out there but none seemed to do what I wanted or cost more than I wanted to pay.
I finally found what I thought would do everything I wanted at a reasonable price and I installed it in the Outlaw Oliver. I have it set up so that:
When the trailer is unattended and sitting still (either here at home or anywhere else) and moves over 300 feet, it will send a text message to my iphone that includes a hyperlink to a Google Map page with an icon on it indicating where the trailer is. It will continue to send these until I tell it to stop.
If the door is opened it will set off a local alarm and send a text message stating that the door has been breached and includes the same hyperlink.
I can call it with my iphone and it will send the hyperlink.
If the main power source is removed (trailer batteries) it will send the hyperlink. There are internal lithium batteries that power it if the external power fails and it will alert you if these become low.
I can text it and tell it to switch between tracking and monitoring. In Monitor mode I can listen in on anything going on inside the trailer via a hidden microphone.
I can authorize up to five phones that can access it. Family can always tell where we are.
If we push the “panic” button it will send out a help message to all phones.
All programing is done via text messages and in addition you can arm/disarm it with an included key fob remote.
There are dozens of other functions that it will perform. You can set up multiple virtual GEO fences that will alert if the trailer is moved into or out of. You can have it text you if it is going over a MPH that you have pre-set as maximum. It has an internal SD slot that will log all this data. The list goes on and on.
This piece of equipment is (I’m sure) made in China, as its manual is printed in Chinglish and thus has somewhat of a steep learning curve but it cost me less than $50.00 including the SIM card with 200 prepaid text messages. There are no monthly fees. When you’ve used your allotted text messages, you just reload it with another $10 worth. It operates in conjunction with the GPS and Cell phone systems. And it works just like it said it would.
I tried to upload photos of the aluminum mast and mount that I made for my remote control GoLight and the two antennas for the tracker, but I could not get it to work. I will work on that another day. I believe both of these items might be being offered as options on the Oliver Elite II.
Thanks, that's reassuring. I was sure someone had already thought if this. I appreciate your thorough answer and even including other scenarios, like when the battery area has been breached or a door opened.
-
So just recently, someone stole a motor home in Oregon. They were able to find it, but there was some damage. Has anyone ever put some GPS tracking device in their trailer in case it's stolen. It could be hidden somewhere I suppose. I have a tongue lock on my present pop up trailer that slides under the hitch area on my trailer. It seems that in 2021 there must be some high tech way people can track if their trailer is moved (app on phone) and can then alert police as to its location. I wonder how everyone secures their trailers when they leave in their tv for the day or when it's parked by their house or in the storage facility.
-
4 hours ago, ScubaRx said:
But it won't decrease the tongue weight as it applies to reaching your max cargo carrying capacity. It transfers part of the weight to the front axle, but the total tongue weight is the same.
Our max tongue weight we can have is 920 pounds. I thought the Oliver was about 700 pounds. I am thinking of the 30 pound propane tanks and no front basket. Will I be ok? My do not exceed number is 1404 pounds occupants and cargo. If 700 pounds for tongue weight and my wife and I are 340 pounds combined, wouldn't that give us about 364 pounds for our CCC? I thought the wdh helped us. I am new to all this.
-
1
-
-
9 minutes ago, John E Davies said:
Depends……
Most likely it would be required due to the TW and also to minimize passenger discomfort on bumpy roads. I would order it, for sure. There are countless Andersen hitch threads, search and do some reading. It is the only WD hitch approved by Oliver.
John Davies
Spokane WA
I am sold on the Anderson WDH then. I much prefer quality over price. If the ride experience is better with a wdh, then that's a key factor. It also lessens the tw also as I understand.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, John E Davies said:
9200 is plenty, just pack more of your stuff in the trailer, keeping in mind that your tongue weight goes up proportionally (about 10%). NOT buying the tongue tray helps in this regard, keep the TW as low as practical. You still may run out of cargo load capacity in the Ford, but the towing number is fine. Try it for a season, then decide if it is going to be good long term TV.
FYI if you don’t need all that extra seating, remove the third and possibly second row seats and store them. Together that might give you another 150 pounds of cargo load. Plus more actual space…. Install a cargo barrier and be safe. These are most excellent. They weigh nothing and can be rolled down and stored on the floor when not needed.
John Davies
Spokane WA
Thanks for your comment. Initially I was thinking of the tongue storage box, but after reading comments, it appears that might not be a good idea afterall.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, rideandfly said:
We have been towing our LE2 @ 4950 pound ready to camp with less than 500 pound tongue weight with a new mid-sized pickup in the Appalachian mountains, heading to a 5000' elevation campground next. Tested on up to 8% grades so far. Will reveal results later and vehicle when finished testing, unless seen by someone here in a TN/NC mountain campground first.
Our 2016 Tundra was rated for 9800 pounds tow capacity and did fine towing our LE2. Added airbags to the rear differential to reduce rear sag. Everyone tows differently, but when we're in the mountains, get in the slow lane with the big trucks going up and down grades. We keep Ollie light and our TV under gross weight with Ollie connected.
There's an option for a weight distribution hitch. Anderson I think. That seems to be a good idea. What are your thoughts on that option?
-
7 hours ago, ScubaRx said:
Based on your supplied numbers, you have the capacity for 368 more pounds of cargo in your vehicle. Be careful, it won't take long to get there. I would not try to shift weight from the vehicle to the trailer since you're already so close to your max tow rating.
I looked at my vehicle specs more closely and it turns out that I have 9200 pounds of tow capacity.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, ChrisMI said:
You should be fine with those specs. However, when ordering your unit you’ll probably want to avoid the front basket and go with the rear hitch carrier instead. Resist the urge to fill the back of your tow vehicle and instead pack it into the camper.
Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it very much.
-
1 hour ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:
Dad's Expedition was a 1998 built on the 1/2 ton, long bed truck chassis. With the seats folded, the cargo space of the Expedition was the same size as a pickup bed, able to carry full sheets of plywood. This from Trailers.com
1998 Ford Expedition 4x2 5.4 V-8 8000 lb Notes: Requires automatic transmission. Requires Trailer Towing Package. Requires 3.55:1 axle ratio. Requires 3.73:1 axle ratio. Requires 16-inch tires. A higher tow rating is listed for pickups that tow fifth-wheel trailers. When we debated whether to keep it or not, I researched new Expeditions. At the time (around 2015) I was told the new Expeditions were not built on the pickup chassis, but rather a mini-van chassis. I don't know if this is true or is still the case. We opted for a BMW X5-300d instead.
A good resource for Expedition towing capacity from year 2000-2021 can be found here
It looks like my 2017 EL Limited has a towing capacity of 9200 pounds. I think that I will be OK with it. I like the vehicle and I can get whole sheets of 4x8 plywood. Thanks for your comments. Now to get my wife on the same page. She is still talking about an R-Pod and I am thinking Oliver LE2.
-
1
-
-
2 hours ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:
I assume you are thinking an Elite II is your choice. However, I wouldn't overlook the smaller Elite. I would ask Oliver to arrange a showing of whichever one you haven't seen, so you have a comparison of the two. If you are over 6' tall, the Elite might not work as well.
That being said, years ago my dad towed a smaller Komfort Lite with an Expedition - V8 engine with tow package. I can't tell you how much the trailer weighed, but he had no problem towing it over passes between California and Oregon. I think there are several here who tow Olivers with an SUV.
Where are you located in Oregon? We live near the SW coast.
We live in Beaverton, ten miles west of Portland. It has a six cylinder, twin turbo charge 3.5 L engine. It's more powerful than our Suburban thatbhad 8 cylinders and was 5.7 L odd as that seems. The Suburban was 1992 that we had for about 25 years.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, John Welte said:
The combined weight of occupants and cargo should not exceed 1408 pounds. I weigh 200, my wife weighs 140. I think the hitch weight is 700 pounds on the LE2. We would probably have about 6000 pounds in the trailer with water, clothes and food. Usually with our tent trailer we just hook up to city water at the cg. We haven't done boondocking with our tent trailer. I foresee doing mostly state parks and hooking up to water and electricity. I am thinking of the composting toilet so wouldn't use the black tank. Does this sound doable?
It has the heavy duty tow package as it's a Limited trim package with the 7 prong connector and the manual brake adjuster. For 2017, the deciding factor if it has the heavy duty tow package is the 7 prong connector. Maybe I am OK after all.
-
1 hour ago, ChrisMI said:
With the longer wheelbase, high base curb weight, and the probability it’s based on a half ton truck chassis I think it might make a great tow vehicle. I wouldn’t give up on it too quickly. What is the payload of your EL?
The combined weight of occupants and cargo should not exceed 1408 pounds. I weigh 200, my wife weighs 140. I think the hitch weight is 700 pounds on the LE2. We would probably have about 6000 pounds in the trailer with water, clothes and food. Usually with our tent trailer we just hook up to city water at the cg. We haven't done boondocking with our tent trailer. I foresee doing mostly state parks and hooking up to water and electricity. I am thinking of the composting toilet so wouldn't use the black tank. Does this sound doable?
Campground hook ups
in General Discussion
Posted
I can't find this in a cursory look at the manual, but in a campground, can you hook up to water and drain the gray water into the site drain that each site has? Basically, can you bypass the holding tank?